Pzena Investment Management LLC Raises Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,892,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,524 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $50,499,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,788,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $207,809,000 after buying an additional 700,643 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,079,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $143,714,000 after buying an additional 26,010 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System in the 3rd quarter valued at about $80,011,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,939,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,980,000 after buying an additional 967,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,152,000. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Shares of Columbia Banking System stock traded down $0.13 during trading on Thursday, hitting $19.18. 325,049 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,681,119. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.08 and a 12-month high of $28.11. The stock has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.44 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $19.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.19.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.12. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 16.52% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The firm had revenue of $473.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $480.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. Columbia Banking System’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.51%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on COLB shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Columbia Banking System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.19.

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.