Quest Partners LLC Takes Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 26,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $683,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 85.1% in the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,219 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 144.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 111.5% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,618 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380 shares during the period. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 137,166.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 4,115 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of COLB traded up $0.97 on Friday, reaching $31.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,334,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,564,862. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.08 and a twelve month high of $31.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $27.78 and a 200-day moving average of $23.81.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) 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 firm had revenue of $765.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $478.80 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.13% and a net margin of 16.15%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is currently 62.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on COLB. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of 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. Barclays upped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.