Short Interest in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) Grows By 31.5%

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,170,000 shares, an increase of 31.5% from the October 15th total of 1,650,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 594,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler set a $68.50 price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley cut Commerce Bancshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $66.00 to $64.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com raised Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.79.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

CBSH traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $71.60. The stock had a trading volume of 287,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 533,067. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.73. Commerce Bancshares has a 52 week low of $46.38 and a 52 week high of $73.31.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $421.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $412.85 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 24.15% and a return on equity of 15.93%. As a group, analysts expect that Commerce Bancshares will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Commerce Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 28.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman David W. Kemper sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.78, for a total transaction of $1,853,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,151,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,170,189.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP John K. Handy sold 1,331 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.80, for a total transaction of $84,917.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,650,762.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman David W. Kemper sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.78, for a total value of $1,853,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,151,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,170,189.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,219 shares of company stock worth $2,126,803 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Commerce Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 7,407.2% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 362,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,556,000 after acquiring an additional 358,066 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 19.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,069,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,453,000 after buying an additional 342,793 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,631,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $672,004,000 after acquiring an additional 259,127 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,509,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,776,000 after buying an additional 240,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 168.3% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 342,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,081,000 after purchasing an additional 214,582 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.