Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Stock Holdings Lessened by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 39.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 88,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 56,913 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $2,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COLB. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC now owns 45,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,468,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 71,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,949,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 7,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the period. Henshaw Capital LLC boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Henshaw Capital LLC now owns 34,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on COLB. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings raised Columbia Banking System from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Fundamental Research set a $35.00 price target on Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson raised Columbia Banking System from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $33.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.38.

Key Stories Impacting Columbia Banking System

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 Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COLB opened at $30.85 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $29.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.26. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a one year low of $25.12 and a one year high of $33.67. The company has a market capitalization of $8.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

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

About Columbia Banking System

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.