Short Interest in Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) Increases 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 trading volume of 600,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Patricia R. Kellerhals sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.55, for a total transaction of $34,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 22,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,526,265.75. This represents a 2.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 owns 1,151,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,170,189.32. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Commerce Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 7,407.2% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 362,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,556,000 after buying an additional 358,066 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 19.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,069,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,453,000 after purchasing an additional 342,793 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,509,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,776,000 after purchasing an additional 240,938 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 168.3% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 342,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,081,000 after purchasing an additional 214,582 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,396,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $142,951,000 after purchasing an additional 163,782 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CBSH traded down $1.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $66.63. The stock had a trading volume of 205,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 551,782. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $66.80 and its 200-day moving average is $61.98. Commerce Bancshares has a 1 year low of $47.09 and a 1 year high of $72.75.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $421.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $412.85 million. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 15.93% and a net margin of 24.15%. Analysts forecast that Commerce Bancshares will post 3.95 EPS for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors 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 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on CBSH shares. Morgan Stanley lowered Commerce Bancshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. 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, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.