Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $73.34 and last traded at $73.06, with a volume of 41957 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $71.81.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler set a $68.50 target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered Commerce Bancshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $66.00 to $64.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Seven research 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, Commerce Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.79.

Commerce Bancshares Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $9.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.33.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.07. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 15.93% and a net margin of 24.15%. The firm had revenue of $421.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $412.85 million. Analysts expect that Commerce Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Commerce Bancshares news, SVP Douglas D. Neff sold 888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.10, for a total value of $64,024.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $579,539.80. The trade was a 9.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patricia R. Kellerhals sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.23, for a total transaction of $124,460.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,454,999.63. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,109 shares of company stock worth $2,191,123 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Commerce Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,226,000. Marshall Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Commerce Bancshares in the second quarter worth $1,006,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 181.3% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 17,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $953,000 after purchasing an additional 11,540 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 138.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,696,000 after buying an additional 18,496 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $436,000. 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.