Short Interest in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) Expands By 7.2%

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,220,000 shares, a growth of 7.2% from the November 15th total of 2,070,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 600,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of CBSH traded down $1.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $66.63. 205,138 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 551,782. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $66.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.98. Commerce Bancshares has a 12-month low of $47.09 and a 12-month high of $72.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.77.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.07. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 24.15% and a return on equity of 15.93%. The company had revenue of $421.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $412.85 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares will post 3.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Commerce Bancshares

In other Commerce Bancshares news, SVP Douglas D. Neff sold 888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total transaction of $64,024.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $579,539.80. The trade was a 9.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman David W. Kemper sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.78, for a total value of $1,853,400.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,151,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,170,189.32. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,816 shares of company stock valued at $2,330,126 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CBSH. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,861,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 13.5% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 39,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,319,000 after acquiring an additional 4,654 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the third quarter worth approximately $475,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 35.5% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 42,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,550,000 after purchasing an additional 11,247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Commerce Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $566,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley cut Commerce Bancshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $66.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Piper Sandler set a $68.50 price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.07.

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.