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

Leuthold Group LLC bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 121,843 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,181,000. Leuthold Group LLC owned about 0.06% of Columbia Banking System as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COLB. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 24,177 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $631,000 after buying an additional 1,650 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 12.4% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 127,672 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,314,000 after acquiring an additional 14,135 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised 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 worth $4,583,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWC Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the third quarter valued at about $241,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

NASDAQ:COLB traded down $0.13 on Tuesday, reaching $28.64. The stock had a trading volume of 1,037,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,298,997. The company has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 0.64. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.08 and a 12-month high of $28.88. The firm's fifty day moving average is $25.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.42.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $765.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.03%. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is 61.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COLB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stephens increased their target price on Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Columbia Banking System from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 5th. Wedbush raised their target price on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.12.

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.