Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Short Interest Update

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 7,240,000 shares, an increase of 34.1% from the February 13th total of 5,400,000 shares. Approximately 3.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,520,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on COLB. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Columbia Banking System news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total transaction of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. The trade was a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 43,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,128,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 60,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 91,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,476,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $844,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

COLB stock traded up $0.83 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $24.77. 1,475,001 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,793,972. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $27.03 and its 200-day moving average is $27.46. The company has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 0.62. Columbia Banking System has a 12 month low of $17.08 and a 12 month high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.81%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is 56.69%.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

Columbia Banking System, Inc operates as the holding company of Umpqua Bank that provides banking, private banking, mortgage, and other financial services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business, non-interest bearing checking, interest-bearing checking and savings, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts; and insured cash sweep and other investment sweep solutions.