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

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,650,000 shares, a growth of 22.2% from the September 30th total of 1,350,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 594,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of CBSH traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $62.45. The company had a trading volume of 633,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 529,901. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.56. The stock has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.74. Commerce Bancshares has a 1-year low of $40.91 and a 1-year high of $65.86.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on CBSH. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $64.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler set a $68.50 price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Commerce Bancshares

In other news, Director June Mcallister Fowler sold 1,535 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.16, for a total transaction of $100,020.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $177,365.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director June Mcallister Fowler sold 1,535 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.16, for a total transaction of $100,020.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,722 shares in the company, valued at $177,365.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman David W. Kemper sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,151,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,170,189.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,366 shares of company stock valued at $2,254,028. 3.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Commerce Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CBSH. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,631,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $672,004,000 after purchasing an additional 259,127 shares during the period. 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 worth $195,776,000 after acquiring an additional 240,938 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 19.8% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,260,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,339,000 after purchasing an additional 168,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Commerce Bancshares by 0.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 624,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,846,000 after purchasing an additional 3,391 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

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.