Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) Short Interest Up 7.2% in November

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in 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 days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ CBSH traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $67.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 190,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 552,391. The company’s 50-day moving average is $66.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.89. Commerce Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $47.09 and a fifty-two week high of $72.75. The stock has a market cap of $8.69 billion, a PE ratio of 17.59, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.77.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $421.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $412.85 million. Equities analysts expect that Commerce Bancshares will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. Commerce Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 28.13%.

Insider Transactions at Commerce Bancshares

In related news, Chairman David W. Kemper sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.78, for a total value of $1,853,400.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,151,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,170,189.32. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP David L. Roller sold 890 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total value of $64,320.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,236,684.23. This trade represents a 2.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 36,816 shares of company stock valued at $2,330,126. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in Commerce Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,861,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted 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 worth $2,319,000 after acquiring an additional 4,654 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Commerce Bancshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $475,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Commerce Bancshares during the third quarter worth approximately $566,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.