FourThought Financial LLC Grows Holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

FourThought Financial LLC raised its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB – Get Rating) by 11.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. FourThought Financial LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COLB. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System in the 1st quarter valued at about $484,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 26.7% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,120 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 23,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $790,000 after acquiring an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 56.3% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 42,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,364,000 after acquiring an additional 15,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 232,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,516,000 after acquiring an additional 7,638 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on COLB. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $37.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 25th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Columbia Banking System from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $32.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $23.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.43.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Columbia Banking System stock opened at $21.72 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $29.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.71. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a one year low of $20.25 and a one year high of $35.53.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.01. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.87% and a net margin of 33.55%. The company had revenue of $203.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.52%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 37.50%.

About Columbia Banking System

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Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of financial services. It offers its services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, and individuals. It operates through the Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California geographical segments. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Tacoma, WA.