Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $52.01, but opened at $53.23. Commerce Bancshares shares last traded at $53.24, with a volume of 59,904 shares changing hands.

The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $397.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $389.49 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 23.33% and a return on equity of 16.78%. Commerce Bancshares’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on CBSH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James raised shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a report on Thursday, January 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Commerce Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Robert S. Holmes sold 5,000 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.66, for a total value of $263,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,648,429.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP John K. Handy sold 1,508 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.79, for a total value of $82,623.32. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 46,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,549,049.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert S. Holmes sold 5,000 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.66, for a total transaction of $263,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,648,429.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,321 shares of company stock worth $752,387. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Commerce Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in Commerce Bancshares by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 29,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,547,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Commerce Bancshares by 93.1% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in Commerce Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at $270,000. Fulton Bank N.A. purchased a new position in Commerce Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth $270,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 193,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,341,000 after acquiring an additional 7,740 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Commerce Bancshares Trading Up 0.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.93.

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.