FourThought Financial Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 8,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COLB. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 171.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1,507.6% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 4,553 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth approximately $209,000. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Columbia Banking System stock opened at $26.53 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 0.66. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.08 and a twelve month high of $32.85. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.36.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. Sell-side analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.43%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on COLB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $35.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.38.

Columbia Banking System 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.