Vest Financial LLC Acquires 68,873 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 108.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 132,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 68,873 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $3,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System in the 2nd quarter worth $880,443,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the second quarter valued at about $120,867,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the second quarter valued at about $68,906,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the second quarter worth about $68,245,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the second quarter worth about $45,104,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

NASDAQ COLB opened at $30.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.66. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.12 and a fifty-two week high of $33.67. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.24.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $702.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.74 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.69% and a net margin of 22.83%. The business’s revenue was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Friday, August 28th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 58.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on COLB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Columbia Banking System from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Fundamental Research set a $35.00 price objective on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.38.

Trending Headlines about Columbia Banking System

Here are the key news stories impacting Columbia Banking System this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 earnings and revenue exceeded expectations. Columbia reported adjusted earnings of $0.82 per share versus the $0.77 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $702 million, above the $687.7 million forecast. Revenue increased 19.4% year over year. Columbia Banking Q3 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability improved materially. Net income rose to $220 million, or $0.78 per diluted share, from $96 million a year earlier. Net interest income increased $26 million sequentially to $615 million, and net interest margin expanded 18 basis points to 4.11%. Deposits also grew to $52.74 billion from $52.06 billion in the prior quarter. Columbia Banking Q3 net income report
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns are a major catalyst. The bank repurchased $199 million of common stock during the quarter, completed its previous authorization and approved a new buyback of up to $1.2 billion with no expiration date. Columbia also maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.37 per share. Columbia Banking System third-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: RBC raised its price target to $34 from $32. Although the firm retained a “sector perform” rating, the higher target implies additional upside from the current trading level. Royal Bank of Canada analyst recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: Columbia reported third-quarter net charge-offs, but the available announcement does not provide enough detail to determine whether credit quality improved or deteriorated. Columbia Banking net charge-offs report
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted earnings of $0.82 per share declined from $0.85 in the year-earlier quarter, meaning the results were strong relative to estimates but not across every year-over-year earnings measure.

About Columbia Banking System

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Tacoma, Washington. It operates through Umpqua Bank, a full-service financial institution serving consumers, businesses, professionals and institutions.

Umpqua Bank provides deposit accounts, residential and commercial lending, business banking, treasury and cash-management services, mortgage banking, personal banking and wealth-management solutions. Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, commercial real estate and business loans, consumer credit, online and mobile banking, and investment and advisory services.

Columbia Banking System traces its roots to the formation of Columbia State Bank in Washington in 1993.