Short Interest in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) Expands By 22.2%

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) was the target of a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,650,000 shares, an increase of 22.2% from the September 30th total of 1,350,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 594,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Patricia R. Kellerhals sold 1,500 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.82, for a total transaction of $91,230.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,543,672.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director June Mcallister Fowler sold 1,535 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.16, for a total value of $100,020.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $177,365.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Patricia R. Kellerhals sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.82, for a total transaction of $91,230.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,543,672.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 36,366 shares of company stock worth $2,254,028. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Commerce Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CBSH. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 51.1% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 86.3% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 156.5% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered Commerce Bancshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $64.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler set a $68.50 price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.79.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of Commerce Bancshares stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $62.45. 633,309 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 529,901. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.56. Commerce Bancshares has a 52-week low of $40.91 and a 52-week high of $65.86.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.13%.

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.