Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,220,000 shares, an increase of 7.2% from the November 15th total of 2,070,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 600,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler set a $68.50 target price on Commerce Bancshares and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley downgraded Commerce Bancshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $66.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Commerce Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.07.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Commerce Bancshares stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $67.74. The stock had a trading volume of 119,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 552,168. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.77. Commerce Bancshares has a 1-year low of $47.09 and a 1-year high of $72.75. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.89.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $421.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $412.85 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 24.15% and a return on equity of 15.93%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Commerce Bancshares will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Commerce Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 28.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Commerce Bancshares

In related news, Chairman David W. Kemper sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.22, for a total transaction of $311,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 23,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,642,244.50. The trade was a 15.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Patricia R. Kellerhals sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.55, for a total transaction of $34,275.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 22,265 shares in the company, valued at $1,526,265.75. The trade was a 2.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,816 shares of company stock worth $2,330,126 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 51.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the third quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 48.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Commerce Bancshares Company Profile

Commerce Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Commerce Bank that provides retail, mortgage banking, corporate, investment, trust, and asset management products and services to individuals and businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Consumer, Commercial, and Wealth.