Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) Short Interest Down 16.1% in September

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) was the target of a large decline in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,350,000 shares, a decline of 16.1% from the September 15th total of 1,610,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 617,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of CBSH stock traded up $0.39 on Monday, reaching $60.29. 442,866 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 521,276. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $61.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.81. Commerce Bancshares has a 1-year low of $40.91 and a 1-year high of $65.86. The stock has a market cap of $7.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.17. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 23.62% and a return on equity of 16.50%. The firm had revenue of $414.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $406.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.08%.

Insider Transactions at Commerce Bancshares

In other news, CFO Charles G. Kim sold 5,282 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $343,330.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 89,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,815,680. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Jonathan M. Kemper sold 19,626 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total value of $1,249,391.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 997,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,476,149.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Charles G. Kim sold 5,282 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value 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 approximately $5,815,680. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,612 shares of company stock valued at $3,184,609 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Commerce Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Commerce Bancshares by 156.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its position in Commerce Bancshares by 2,864.7% in the 2nd quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 974 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Commerce Bancshares by 93.1% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Commerce Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at about $90,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CBSH. Morgan Stanley lowered Commerce Bancshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $66.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Commerce Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.71.

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.