Short Interest in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Rises By 13.1%

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,550,000 shares, an increase of 13.1% from the May 31st total of 7,560,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,040,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $19.91. The company had a trading volume of 1,827,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,542,584. Columbia Banking System has a twelve month low of $17.08 and a twelve month high of $28.11. The stock has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.44.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $473.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $480.39 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 16.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.23%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is presently 61.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COLB. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System in the third quarter valued at about $80,011,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,152,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 1,633.4% during the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 1,277,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203,933 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 32.5% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,939,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,980,000 after buying an additional 967,009 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3,245.7% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 864,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,068,000 after buying an additional 838,762 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COLB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded Columbia Banking System from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.04.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

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.