53,077 Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Shares Sold by Leeward Investments LLC MA

Leeward Investments LLC MA reduced its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 808,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 53,077 shares during the quarter. Columbia Banking System comprises approximately 1.2% of Leeward Investments LLC MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Leeward Investments LLC MA owned about 0.29% of Columbia Banking System worth $23,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COLB. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the second quarter worth $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 571.7% in the first quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 949 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 213.7% in the third quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 921 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COLB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Fundamental Research set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.38.

More Columbia Banking System News

Here are the key news stories impacting Columbia Banking System this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 earnings and revenue exceeded expectations. Columbia reported adjusted earnings of $0.82 per share versus the $0.77 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $702 million, above the $687.7 million forecast. Revenue increased 19.4% year over year. Columbia Banking Q3 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability improved materially. Net income rose to $220 million, or $0.78 per diluted share, from $96 million a year earlier. Net interest income increased $26 million sequentially to $615 million, and net interest margin expanded 18 basis points to 4.11%. Deposits also grew to $52.74 billion from $52.06 billion in the prior quarter. Columbia Banking Q3 net income report
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns are a major catalyst. The bank repurchased $199 million of common stock during the quarter, completed its previous authorization and approved a new buyback of up to $1.2 billion with no expiration date. Columbia also maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.37 per share. Columbia Banking System third-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: RBC raised its price target to $34 from $32. Although the firm retained a “sector perform” rating, the higher target implies additional upside from the current trading level. Royal Bank of Canada analyst recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: Columbia reported third-quarter net charge-offs, but the available announcement does not provide enough detail to determine whether credit quality improved or deteriorated. Columbia Banking net charge-offs report
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted earnings of $0.82 per share declined from $0.85 in the year-earlier quarter, meaning the results were strong relative to estimates but not across every year-over-year earnings measure.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB opened at $30.85 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $29.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.26. The stock has a market cap of $8.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.66. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.12 and a 52-week high of $33.67.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The firm had revenue of $702.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. Columbia Banking System’s quarterly revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.21%.

Columbia Banking System Profile

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Tacoma, Washington. It operates through Umpqua Bank, a full-service financial institution serving consumers, businesses, professionals and institutions.

Umpqua Bank provides deposit accounts, residential and commercial lending, business banking, treasury and cash-management services, mortgage banking, personal banking and wealth-management solutions. Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, commercial real estate and business loans, consumer credit, online and mobile banking, and investment and advisory services.

Columbia Banking System traces its roots to the formation of Columbia State Bank in Washington in 1993.