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

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of 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 trading volume, of 2,040,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.04.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of COLB traded up $0.02 on Monday, hitting $19.91. 1,827,041 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,542,584. The company has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a PE ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 0.66. Columbia Banking System has a one year low of $17.08 and a one year high of $28.11. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.44.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.12. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 16.52%. The firm had revenue of $473.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $480.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Columbia Banking System will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

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

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.