Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) Shares Cross Below 50-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) shares crossed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $56.02 and traded as low as $55.36. Commerce Bancshares shares last traded at $55.89, with a volume of 823,111 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CBSH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $63.00 target price (up from $62.00) on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Stephens set a $62.00 price target on Commerce Bancshares and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Commerce Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.50.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $55.92 and a 200 day moving average of $54.53. The company has a market capitalization of $7.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.43, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.61.

Commerce Bancshares’s stock is going to split before the market opens on Tuesday, December 1st. The 1.05-1 split was recently announced. The newly minted shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Monday, November 30th.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $494.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $496.75 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 26.06% and a return on equity of 14.27%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.2750 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Douglas Neff sold 666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.15, for a total transaction of $38,727.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $683,029.90. This trade represents a 5.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Commerce Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. White Sand Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the third quarter valued at about $731,000. United Southern Bank Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the third quarter worth about $67,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 1.0% in the third quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 32,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,791,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 147,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,065,000 after buying an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 72.2% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 40,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,213,000 after buying an additional 16,948 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Commerce Bancshares Company Profile

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1865, it provides banking and financial services through its principal subsidiary, Commerce Bank. The company serves consumers, businesses, institutions and public-sector organizations. Its services include checking and savings accounts, lending, mortgage banking, treasury management, payment processing, and wealth management and trust services. Commerce Bank operates across several Midwestern and neighboring states, including Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma and Colorado.