Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $65.07.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Raymond James lowered Commerce Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley cut Commerce Bancshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of CBSH stock opened at $63.59 on Friday. Commerce Bancshares has a 52-week low of $47.09 and a 52-week high of $72.75. The stock has a market cap of $8.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $67.41 and its 200-day moving average is $62.38.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last issued its 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. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 15.93% and a net margin of 24.15%. The company had revenue of $421.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $412.85 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares will post 3.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Commerce Bancshares news, EVP Kevin G. Barth sold 1,582 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.54, for a total value of $106,848.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,417,723.86. This represents a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman David W. Kemper sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.78, for a total value of $1,853,400.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,151,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,170,189.32. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 39,398 shares of company stock valued at $2,504,665. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Commerce Bancshares

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

About Commerce Bancshares

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.