Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $6 Million Stock Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Columbia Banking System by 27.2%, selling 89,702 shares and now owning 240,363 shares valued at approximately $5,995,000.
• Columbia Banking System reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.76, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.66, with revenues reaching $511.55 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.36, translating to an annualized dividend of $1.44 and a yield of 5.3%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 29th.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 27.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 240,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 89,702 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.11% of Columbia Banking System worth $5,995,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of COLB. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 141.3% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Financial Harvest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 1st quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 1st quarter worth $95,000. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $26.00 target price (up from $22.00) on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Monday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Columbia Banking System to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Stephens upgraded Columbia Banking System from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Columbia Banking System from $26.50 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.07.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of Columbia Banking System stock traded down $0.60 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $26.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,224,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,225,348. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.27. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.61 and a 1-year high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $511.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $492.00 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 17.98%.Columbia Banking System's revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side 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 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 of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.14%.

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.