Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on CBSH. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Commerce Bancshares from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $59.71.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of CBSH opened at $58.36 on Tuesday. Commerce Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $40.91 and a fifty-two week high of $65.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.68. The stock has a market cap of $7.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.69 and a beta of 0.74.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $414.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $406.88 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 23.62% and a return on equity of 16.50%. Commerce Bancshares’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares will post 3.95 EPS for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Commerce Bancshares

In other news, Director Jonathan M. Kemper sold 19,626 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total transaction of $1,249,391.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 997,112 shares in the company, valued at $63,476,149.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Commerce Bancshares news, CEO John W. Kemper sold 5,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.22, for a total value of $336,274.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 198,298 shares in the company, valued at $12,932,995.56. This 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 hyperlink. Also, Director Jonathan M. Kemper sold 19,626 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total value of $1,249,391.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 997,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,476,149.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,612 shares of company stock valued at $3,184,609. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Commerce Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CBSH. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,372,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $660,816,000 after purchasing an additional 558,017 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 19.8% in 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 period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $195,776,000 after buying an additional 240,938 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 168.3% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 342,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,081,000 after acquiring an additional 214,582 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 15.4% in the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,260,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,339,000 after acquiring an additional 168,550 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.