Leuthold Group LLC Purchases New Holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Leuthold Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 121,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,181,000. Leuthold Group LLC owned 0.06% of Columbia Banking System at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 7.3% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 24,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 9.3% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 38,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 12.4% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 127,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,314,000 after purchasing an additional 14,135 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 0.3% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 175,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,583,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Finally, CWC Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the third quarter worth $241,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $28.77 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $25.58 and a 200 day moving average of $22.34. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.08 and a 52-week high of $28.88.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $765.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $478.80 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 15.94%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 61.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on COLB shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.12.

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.