Strs Ohio Invests $1.72 Million in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Key Points

• Strs Ohio invested $1.72 million in Columbia Banking System, acquiring 68,958 shares of its stock during the first quarter.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $0.76, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.66 and reflecting a revenue increase of 8.2% year-over-year.
• Columbia Banking System declared a quarterly dividend of $0.36, providing a yield of 5.7% with a dividend payout ratio of 57.14%.

Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 68,958 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,720,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 194.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the first quarter worth $37,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake 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 worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. Financial Harvest LLC acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System during the 1st quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System during the 1st quarter worth about $95,000. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on COLB shares. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Stephens upgraded Columbia Banking System from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $26.00 price target (up from $22.00) on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Columbia Banking System from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.36.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

COLB stock traded down $0.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $26.55. 14,335,819 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,858,149. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.61 and a 1 year high of $32.85. The firm's 50 day moving average is $25.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.25. The stock has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.14%.

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.