Nuveen LLC Buys Shares of 504,744 Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired 504,744 shares of Columbia Banking System, valued at approximately $12.6 million, representing 0.24% ownership following its recent SEC filing.
• Columbia Banking System reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.76, exceeding analysts' estimates, with revenue rising by 8.2% year-over-year to $511.55 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.36, resulting in an annualized yield of 5.7% for investors, with the payment scheduled for September 15th.

Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 504,744 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $12,588,000. Nuveen LLC owned 0.24% of Columbia Banking System as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 61,990 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 11,637 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 482,353 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,030,000 after purchasing an additional 1,970 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 3.9% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 24,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 34.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,331 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

NASDAQ:COLB traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $27.31. 5,965,489 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,542,381. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.61 and a twelve month high of $32.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $24.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.31.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business 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 firm posted $0.67 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on COLB. Wall Street Zen began coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Zacks Research upgraded Columbia Banking System to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.86.

Columbia Banking System Company 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.