Renaissance Technologies LLC Grows Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 90.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 573,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 273,018 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.27% of Columbia Banking System worth $11,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COLB. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 812.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,182,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,295,000 after acquiring an additional 2,833,744 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,547,000. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 20.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 58,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 9,916 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,191,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,153,000 after purchasing an additional 386,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 333.8% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 639,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,711,000 after purchasing an additional 491,742 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COLB opened at $25.74 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $24.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.95. The company has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 0.64. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.08 and a 1 year high of $28.11.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $472.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $476.01 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 15.94% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COLB has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.96.

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.