Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Stock Sold by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Sterling Capital Management cut its Columbia Banking System stake by 39.1% in the third quarter, selling 56,913 shares and retaining 88,715 shares valued at approximately $2.54 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 92.53%, while several other investors modestly increased their positions.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans neutral: five analysts rate COLB a Buy and nine rate it Hold, producing a consensus Hold rating and a $33.38 average price target.

Sterling Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 39.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 88,715 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 56,913 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $2,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC now owns 45,802 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,468,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 0.6% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 71,041 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,949,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Kera Capital Partners Inc. raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 5.7% during the first quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 7,894 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the period. Henshaw Capital LLC raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 1.4% during the first quarter. Henshaw Capital LLC now owns 34,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $955,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the period. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 5.5% in the third quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COLB has been the subject of a number of research reports. DA Davidson upgraded Columbia Banking System from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $33.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Columbia Banking System from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Columbia Banking System from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.38.

Columbia Banking System News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Columbia Banking System this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 earnings and revenue exceeded expectations. Columbia reported adjusted earnings of $0.82 per share versus the $0.77 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $702 million, above the $687.7 million forecast. Revenue increased 19.4% year over year. Columbia Banking Q3 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability improved materially. Net income rose to $220 million, or $0.78 per diluted share, from $96 million a year earlier. Net interest income increased $26 million sequentially to $615 million, and net interest margin expanded 18 basis points to 4.11%. Deposits also grew to $52.74 billion from $52.06 billion in the prior quarter. Columbia Banking Q3 net income report
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns are a major catalyst. The bank repurchased $199 million of common stock during the quarter, completed its previous authorization and approved a new buyback of up to $1.2 billion with no expiration date. Columbia also maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.37 per share. Columbia Banking System third-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: RBC raised its price target to $34 from $32. Although the firm retained a “sector perform” rating, the higher target implies additional upside from the current trading level. Royal Bank of Canada analyst recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: Columbia reported third-quarter net charge-offs, but the available announcement does not provide enough detail to determine whether credit quality improved or deteriorated. Columbia Banking net charge-offs report
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted earnings of $0.82 per share declined from $0.85 in the year-earlier quarter, meaning the results were strong relative to estimates but not across every year-over-year earnings measure.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $30.85 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $29.68 and a 200-day moving average of $30.26. The firm has a market cap of $8.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.66. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.12 and a twelve month high of $33.67.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.05. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The business had revenue of $702.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Friday, August 28th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.21%.

Columbia Banking System Profile

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Tacoma, Washington. It operates through Umpqua Bank, a full-service financial institution serving consumers, businesses, professionals and institutions.

Umpqua Bank provides deposit accounts, residential and commercial lending, business banking, treasury and cash-management services, mortgage banking, personal banking and wealth-management solutions. Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, commercial real estate and business loans, consumer credit, online and mobile banking, and investment and advisory services.

Columbia Banking System traces its roots to the formation of Columbia State Bank in Washington in 1993.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.