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

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,660,000 shares, a drop of 18.2% from the August 15th total of 2,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 575,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on CBSH. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.00.

Insider Transactions at Commerce Bancshares

In other news, Director Jonathan M. Kemper sold 19,626 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total value of $1,249,391.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 997,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,476,149.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Jonathan M. Kemper sold 19,626 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total transaction of $1,249,391.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 997,112 shares in the company, valued at $63,476,149.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP David L. Roller sold 861 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.30, for a total value of $55,362.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,990,020.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,612 shares of company stock valued at $3,184,609 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,631,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $672,004,000 after acquiring an additional 259,127 shares during the period. Commerce Bank lifted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 7,222,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $385,771,000 after acquiring an additional 196,431 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Commerce Bancshares by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,509,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $195,776,000 after acquiring an additional 240,938 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,345,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $125,260,000 after acquiring an additional 155,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 19.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,069,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,453,000 after purchasing an additional 342,793 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CBSH traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $62.27. 382,211 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 513,035. Commerce Bancshares has a 12 month low of $40.91 and a 12 month high of $65.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.07 billion, a PE ratio of 17.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.77.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $414.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $406.88 million. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 23.62%. Commerce Bancshares’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Commerce Bancshares will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.08%.

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.