Columbia Banking System Inc (COLB): Hedge Funds Are Snapping Up

As aggregate interest increased, some big names were breaking ground themselves. AlphaOne Capital Partners, managed by Paul Hondros, created the most outsized position in Columbia Banking System Inc (NASDAQ:COLB). AlphaOne Capital Partners had $4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management also made a $3.3 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management and Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management.

Let’s go over hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Columbia Banking System Inc (NASDAQ:COLB). We will take a look at Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN), Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated (NASDAQ:COKE) and Parkway Properties Inc (NYSE:PKY). This group of stocks’ market valuations resemble COLB’s market valuation.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 9 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $73 million, which is lower than the $131 million in COLB’s case. Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) is the most popular stock in this table, while the other two stocks are the least popular ones. Columbia Banking System Inc (NASDAQ:COLB) is as popular as WERN, which suggests that the stock may be a profitable investment, but further research is required in order to make a decision.