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

Shares of Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. 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.

The financial services provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.06. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 17.46% and a net margin of 24.41%. The business had revenue of $397.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $389.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. Commerce Bancshares’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Commerce Bancshares’s payout ratio is 29.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CBSH. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Commerce Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Commerce Bancshares news, SVP Douglas D. Neff sold 614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.25, for a total value of $30,853.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $403,909.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Benjamin F. Rassieur III sold 1,785 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.83, for a total transaction of $96,086.55. Following the transaction, the director now owns 33,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,806,911.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas D. Neff sold 614 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.25, for a total value of $30,853.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $403,909.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,321 shares of company stock valued at $752,387 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Commerce Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Commerce Bancshares Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.90. The company has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 0.79.

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.