Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) have received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $68.17.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CBSH. StockNews.com downgraded Commerce Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Commerce Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Commerce Bancshares Trading Down 3.9 %

NASDAQ:CBSH opened at $55.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.71. Commerce Bancshares has a 12-month low of $48.49 and a 12-month high of $72.75. The company’s 50-day moving average is $63.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.38.

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

Commerce Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Commerce Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Commerce Bancshares’s payout ratio is 27.43%.

Insider Activity

In other Commerce Bancshares news, EVP John K. Handy sold 2,722 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.68, for a total transaction of $181,502.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,643,061.84. This represents a 6.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Patricia R. Kellerhals sold 1,719 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.30, for a total transaction of $115,688.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,688 shares in the company, valued at $1,257,702.40. This represents a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 78,434 shares of company stock worth $5,248,272. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CBSH. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 11,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $689,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Canopy Partners LLC lifted its position in Commerce Bancshares by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 3,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Apriem Advisors boosted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Apriem Advisors now owns 3,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Commerce Bancshares by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verde Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Verde Capital Management now owns 3,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.