Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $52.01, but opened at $53.23. Commerce Bancshares shares last traded at $53.24, with a volume of 59,904 shares.

The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $397.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $389.49 million. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 17.46% and a net margin of 24.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Commerce Bancshares in a report on Thursday, January 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.17.

Insider Activity at Commerce Bancshares

In related news, EVP Robert S. Holmes sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.66, for a total transaction of $263,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,648,429.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Douglas D. Neff sold 614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.25, for a total transaction of $30,853.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $403,909.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert S. Holmes sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.66, for a total value of $263,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,648,429.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,321 shares of company stock valued at $752,387 in the last 90 days. 3.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fulton Bank N.A. bought a new position in Commerce Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth $270,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Commerce Bancshares by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 193,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,341,000 after purchasing an additional 7,740 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,372,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $660,816,000 after acquiring an additional 558,017 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 1,984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thomas Story & Son LLC raised its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Thomas Story & Son LLC now owns 6,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Commerce Bancshares Trading Up 2.3 %

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 0.79.

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.