Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Columbia Banking System, Inc. experienced a notable 52.7% decrease in short interest, dropping from 13,920,000 shares to 6,580,000 shares in September.
• The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates and achieving an 8.2% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Columbia Banking System declared a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, resulting in a 5.5% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 57.14%.

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 6,580,000 shares, a decline of 52.7% from the August 31st total of 13,920,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,840,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Based on an average trading volume of 3,840,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Columbia Banking System Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:COLB traded up $0.33 on Friday, reaching $26.26. The stock had a trading volume of 706,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,597,860. The company has a 50-day moving average of $25.72 and a 200 day moving average of $24.34. The stock has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 0.60. Columbia Banking System has a 12-month low of $19.61 and a 12-month high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $511.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $492.00 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.98% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on COLB shares. Raymond James Financial upgraded Columbia Banking System from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $27.00 to $31.00 in a report on Monday, September 15th. Zacks Research downgraded Columbia Banking System from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Cowen assumed coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.27.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 0.9% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,742,629 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $317,802,000 after acquiring an additional 116,795 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 0.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,117,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $236,538,000 after acquiring an additional 64,096 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 18.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,948,687 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $209,220,000 after acquiring an additional 1,381,597 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 2.0% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,816,989 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $182,761,000 after acquiring an additional 149,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 11.1% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,606,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $154,452,000 after acquiring an additional 658,196 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

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.

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