Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) Short Interest Up 14.6% in April

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) saw a large increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,350,000 shares, an increase of 14.6% from the March 31st total of 2,050,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 496,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Commerce Bancshares Trading Down 1.1 %

Commerce Bancshares stock traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $54.79. The company had a trading volume of 393,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 484,614. The company has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s fifty day moving average is $52.55 and its 200-day moving average is $51.35. Commerce Bancshares has a 12-month low of $40.91 and a 12-month high of $56.75.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 23.33% and a return on equity of 16.78%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Commerce Bancshares will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Douglas D. Neff sold 614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.25, for a total value of $30,853.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $403,909.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Commerce Bancshares news, SVP Douglas D. Neff sold 614 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.25, for a total value of $30,853.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,038 shares in the company, valued at $403,909.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David W. Kemper sold 2,870 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.81, for a total transaction of $145,824.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,181,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,057,115.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,876 shares of company stock worth $510,441 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Commerce Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AE Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Commerce Bancshares during the third quarter worth $221,000. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $312,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 19.9% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 23,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,138,000 after acquiring an additional 3,937 shares in the last quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 5.5% in the third quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the third quarter worth approximately $201,000. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CBSH. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with 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 $55.00.

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.