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

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,030,000 shares, a growth of 9.7% from the July 31st total of 1,850,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 563,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CBSH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John W. Kemper sold 5,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.22, for a total value of $336,274.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 198,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,932,995.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Commerce Bancshares news, CFO Charles G. Kim sold 5,282 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $343,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 89,472 shares in the company, valued at $5,815,680. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John W. Kemper sold 5,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.22, for a total transaction of $336,274.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 198,298 shares in the company, valued at $12,932,995.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 46,281 shares of company stock worth $2,975,232. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Commerce Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 2.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,631,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $672,004,000 after purchasing an additional 259,127 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 7,222,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $385,771,000 after purchasing an additional 196,431 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in 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 during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,345,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $125,260,000 after buying an additional 155,526 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Commerce Bancshares by 19.8% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Commerce Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of Commerce Bancshares stock traded down $0.28 on Tuesday, reaching $63.68. 559,788 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 515,529. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $60.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.05. Commerce Bancshares has a 1-year low of $40.91 and a 1-year high of $65.86. The company has a market cap of $8.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 0.75.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last posted its quarterly 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. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 23.62% and a return on equity of 16.50%. The company had revenue of $414.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $406.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th will be given 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 of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.12%.

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.