LSV Asset Management Buys 597,710 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 81.5% during the first quarter, now holding approximately 1,331,143 shares valued at $33.2 million.
• Columbia Banking System reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.76 for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.66, with revenues also surpassing expectations at $511.55 million.
• The company's quarterly dividend was recently paid at $0.36 per share with a dividend yield of 6.2%, reflecting a payout ratio of 57.14%.

LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 81.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,331,143 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 597,710 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 0.63% of Columbia Banking System worth $33,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COLB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 158.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,851,217 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $50,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134,544 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,476,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,514,816 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $148,956,000 after acquiring an additional 512,542 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 2,109,817 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,986,000 after acquiring an additional 428,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FJ Capital Management LLC grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 112.9% during the 4th quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 764,187 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,641,000 after acquiring an additional 405,309 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of COLB stock traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $23.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,611,687 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,587,485. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.61 and a 52-week high of $32.85. The stock has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.47 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $23.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.56.

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

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is presently 57.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COLB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial set a $27.00 price target on Columbia Banking System and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.86.

Columbia Banking System 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.