Scientech Research LLC Acquires New Holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Scientech Research LLC bought a new position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 15,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $307,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 0.3% in the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 261,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,068,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 92,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,460,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 85.1% during the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 58,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,162,000 after acquiring an additional 1,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 51,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $992,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of COLB stock opened at $26.11 on Tuesday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.08 and a 12 month high of $28.11. The company has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $24.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.19.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 15.94% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The firm had revenue of $472.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $476.01 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COLB has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.50.

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.