Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 32,542 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 56.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,542 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $2,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 18,713 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 70.3% during the 3rd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 67,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,747,000 after acquiring an additional 28,021 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 44.9% in the 3rd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 63,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,630,000 after buying an additional 19,617 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 39.9% in the third quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 6,388 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 40.8% in the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 83,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,142,000 after acquiring an additional 24,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 1.1%

COLB stock opened at $28.29 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $28.03 and its 200-day moving average is $26.40. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.61 and a twelve month high of $29.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.46 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.60.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.19. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 15.98% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The firm had revenue of $577.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $565.11 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is an increase from Columbia Banking System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 66.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COLB. Wall Street Zen upgraded Columbia Banking System to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $30.00 target price on shares of Columbia Banking System and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Columbia Banking System from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.08.

Columbia Banking System Profile

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company that operates through its principal subsidiary, Columbia State Bank. Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, the company provides a full range of banking and financial services to commercial, small business and consumer customers. Its branch network is concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, with locations across Washington, Oregon and Idaho, where it aims to combine local decision-making with the resources of a larger institution.

The company’s offerings include commercial real estate lending, construction and development financing, equipment and small business loans, and deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts.