Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,170,000 shares, an increase of 31.5% from the October 15th total of 1,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 594,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Commerce Bancshares news, EVP John K. Handy sold 1,331 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.80, for a total value of $84,917.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,650,762.40. This represents a 3.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman David W. Kemper sold 30,000 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.78, for a total transaction of $1,853,400.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,151,994 shares in the company, valued at $71,170,189.32. The trade was a 2.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,219 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,803 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Commerce Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Commerce Bancshares by 51.1% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Commerce Bancshares by 86.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 842 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the third quarter worth about $47,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Commerce Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of Commerce Bancshares stock traded down $0.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $71.57. 556,230 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 533,978. Commerce Bancshares has a 1 year low of $46.72 and a 1 year high of $73.31. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.73.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $421.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $412.85 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 24.15% and a return on equity of 15.93%. On average, equities analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 28.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CBSH has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered Commerce Bancshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $66.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $68.50 price objective on Commerce Bancshares and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.79.

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.