Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 30,000 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 54.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 30,000 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 40,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 1,548 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 34.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,331 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,368 shares in the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 71,509 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 2,429 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 141.3% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 958 shares during the period. Finally, Clean Yield Group boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 8.0% during the first quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 38,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $953,000 after buying an additional 2,823 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COLB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James Financial set a $27.00 price target on Columbia Banking System and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.71.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of COLB traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $22.29. 3,274,802 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,791,646. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.22 and a twelve month high of $32.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $23.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.54. The stock has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.44 and a beta of 0.63.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.12% and a net margin of 16.85%. The business had revenue of $481.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $482.86 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.46%. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is presently 61.02%.

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.