Wall Street Zen Downgrades Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) to Sell

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $63.00 price target (up from $62.00) on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Commerce Bancshares to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $66.00 target price (up from $59.00) on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $76.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.71.

Commerce Bancshares Price Performance

CBSH stock opened at $55.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $58.12 and its 200 day moving average is $54.91. Commerce Bancshares has a one year low of $46.99 and a one year high of $60.92.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.06. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 26.07% and a return on equity of 14.31%. The business had revenue of $498.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $492.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Commerce Bancshares will post 4.23 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Commerce Bancshares

In other news, EVP Robert S. Holmes sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.20, for a total value of $301,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,962 shares in the company, valued at $3,368,912.40. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Douglas D. Neff sold 666 shares of Commerce Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.15, for a total value of $38,727.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,746 shares in the company, valued at $683,029.90. This represents a 5.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 32,950 shares of company stock worth $1,963,777 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 146.6% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 82,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 196.4% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $704,000 after buying an additional 8,076 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 48.2% during the second quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 27,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,592,000 after buying an additional 8,958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 95.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 19,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after buying an additional 9,537 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Commerce Bancshares Company Profile

Commerce Bancshares, Inc is a financial holding company headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. Its principal subsidiary, Commerce Bank, provides banking and financial services to businesses, institutions and individuals through a network of branches and digital channels.

The company’s offerings include commercial and consumer lending, deposit accounts, treasury and payment services, credit and debit cards, investment services, brokerage, trust administration and wealth management. Commerce also provides specialized services for businesses, including cash management, merchant processing and other payment solutions.

Commerce Bank traces its history to 1865 and primarily serves customers in Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma and Colorado.