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

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,020,000 shares, an increase of 49.1% from the March 15th total of 5,380,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,040,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Banking System

In other news, CEO Clint Stein purchased 9,500 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.96 per share, with a total value of $199,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 165,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,472,736.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Elizabeth Whitehead Seaton acquired 2,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.48 per share, for a total transaction of $49,618.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 25,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,018.48. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Clint Stein acquired 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.96 per share, for a total transaction of $199,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 165,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,472,736.64. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 35,133 shares of company stock valued at $719,737. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of COLB. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 1,506.8% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,326 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 152.2% during the first quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Pacific Financial bought a new position in Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Columbia Banking System from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $21.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.42.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

COLB stock traded down $0.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $17.65. 2,794,422 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,962,401. The company has a 50-day moving average of $18.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.25. The company has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 0.71. Columbia Banking System has a twelve month low of $17.18 and a twelve month high of $28.11.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.35). Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 12.71% and a return on equity of 10.27%. The business had revenue of $519.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $525.94 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 52.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.27%.

About Columbia Banking System

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.