Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Short Interest Up 34.1% in February

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 7,240,000 shares, a growth of 34.1% from the February 13th total of 5,400,000 shares. Approximately 3.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,520,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total value of $116,461.19. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares in the company, valued at $2,725,545.31. This represents a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 62.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on COLB. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.25.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ COLB traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $24.68. 256,618 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,787,906. The firm has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.72 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.47. Columbia Banking System has a 1-year low of $17.08 and a 1-year high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 11.21%. Analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.83%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.69%.

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.