Hedge Funds Are Betting On Columbia Banking System Inc (COLB)

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What’s a smart Columbia Banking System Inc (NASDAQ:COLB) investor to do?

In today’s marketplace, there are a multitude of indicators shareholders can use to watch the equity markets. A pair of the best are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top hedge fund managers can beat their index-focused peers by a solid margin (see just how much).

Columbia Banking System Inc (NASDAQ:COLB)

Just as crucial, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to analyze the stock market universe. Obviously, there are plenty of stimuli for a corporate insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if piggybackers know what to do (learn more here).

What’s more, it’s important to analyze the newest info about Columbia Banking System Inc (NASDAQ:COLB).

How are hedge funds trading Columbia Banking System Inc (NASDAQ:COLB)?

At Q2’s end, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 11% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings significantly.

According to our 13F database, MFP Investors, managed by Michael Price, holds the most valuable position in Columbia Banking System Inc (NASDAQ:COLB). MFP Investors has a $26.2 million position in the stock, comprising 3.5% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Chuck Royce of Royce & Associates, with a $19.1 million position; the fund has 0.1% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers with similar optimism include Amy Minella’s Cardinal Capital, John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.

As aggregate interest spiked, certain money managers were breaking ground themselves. MFP Investors, managed by Michael Price, created the most outsized position in Columbia Banking System Inc (NASDAQ:COLB). MFP Investors had 26.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates also initiated a $19.1 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new COLB positions are Amy Minella’s Cardinal Capital, John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors, and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.

How are insiders trading Columbia Banking System Inc (NASDAQ:COLB)?

Insider buying made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time frame, Columbia Banking System Inc (NASDAQ:COLB) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll go over the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Columbia Banking System Inc (NASDAQ:COLB). These stocks are Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB), Kearny Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:KRNY), Flagstar Bancorp Inc (NYSE:FBC), Astoria Financial Corp (NYSE:AF), and Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS). This group of stocks are the members of the savings & loans industry and their market caps are similar to COLB’s market cap.

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