Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH)’s stock price 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $397.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $389.49 million. Commerce Bancshares had a return on equity of 17.46% and a net margin of 24.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share.

Commerce Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CBSH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on Commerce Bancshares in a report on Thursday, January 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Commerce Bancshares from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Commerce Bancshares from $46.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Raymond James raised Commerce Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Commerce Bancshares currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Commerce Bancshares news, EVP Robert S. Holmes sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,648,429.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Robert S. Holmes sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.66, for a total value of $263,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,648,429.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Patricia R. Kellerhals sold 730 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.87, for a total value of $40,055.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 25,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,399,294.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,321 shares of company stock worth $752,387 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CBSH. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Commerce Bancshares during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV purchased a new position in Commerce Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Commerce Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Commerce Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Commerce Bancshares Trading Up 2.0 %

The company has a market cap of $6.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $51.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.92.

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.