Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Short Interest Up 34.1% in February

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 7,240,000 shares, a growth of 34.1% from the February 13th total of 5,400,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,520,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days. Approximately 3.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ COLB traded down $0.08 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.69. The company had a trading volume of 234,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,784,410. Columbia Banking System has a 12-month low of $17.08 and a 12-month high of $32.85. The stock has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 0.62. The business’s 50-day moving average is $26.98 and its 200 day moving average is $27.47.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. On average, analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.83%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on COLB shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Stephens cut their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $35.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Banking System

In other Columbia Banking System news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total transaction of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,725,545.31. The trade was a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 62.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

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.