Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Shares Bought by Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.

Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. increased its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 972,732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,400 shares during the quarter. Columbia Banking System comprises 4.7% of Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $26,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 50,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,317,000 after purchasing an additional 8,366 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 2.9% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 25,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $656,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 14.0% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 709 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the third quarter valued at $208,000. Finally, Moody Aldrich Partners LLC grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 314,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,225,000 after acquiring an additional 34,098 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COLB opened at $27.41 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.18. The stock has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 0.66. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.08 and a fifty-two week high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.25%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 56.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wedbush increased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $35.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.38.

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.