Yousif Capital Management LLC Acquires 23,141 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 32.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 93,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,141 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $2,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. West Oak Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 194.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 53.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 38.1% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,259 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.1%

Columbia Banking System stock opened at $28.59 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.89. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.61 and a 12 month high of $29.61. The company has a market cap of $8.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 0.62.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 15.98%.The firm had revenue of $348.47 million for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. This is a boost from Columbia Banking System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COLB has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Columbia Banking System from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Zacks Research lowered Columbia Banking System from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.58.

About Columbia Banking System

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company that operates through its principal subsidiary, Columbia State Bank. Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, the company provides a full range of banking and financial services to commercial, small business and consumer customers. Its branch network is concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, with locations across Washington, Oregon and Idaho, where it aims to combine local decision-making with the resources of a larger institution.

The company’s offerings include commercial real estate lending, construction and development financing, equipment and small business loans, and deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts.