Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) Downgraded to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James cut shares of Commerce Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Commerce Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.17.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ CBSH traded down $0.08 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $62.15. 428,782 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 577,511. Commerce Bancshares has a 1-year low of $48.49 and a 1-year high of $72.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $64.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.47. The company has a market cap of $8.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.78.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $422.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $417.48 million. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 25.24%. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Commerce Bancshares will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Commerce Bancshares news, EVP Kevin G. Barth sold 24,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.06, for a total value of $1,642,912.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,006,456.66. This trade represents a 35.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Charles G. Kim sold 13,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.76, for a total transaction of $914,285.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 86,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,844,028.96. The trade was a 13.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 78,434 shares of company stock valued at $5,248,272 over the last 90 days. 3.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Commerce Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Commerce Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Commerce Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 84.0% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.