Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBSH) hit 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 changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $71.81.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CBSH shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Commerce Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Commerce Bancshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $68.50 target price on shares of Commerce Bancshares and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.79.

Commerce Bancshares Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $9.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $63.28 and its 200-day moving average is $60.18.

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

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. Commerce Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 28.13%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP David L. Roller sold 890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total transaction of $64,320.30. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,236,684.23. The trade was a 2.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman David W. Kemper sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.78, for a total transaction of $1,853,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,151,994 shares in the company, valued at $71,170,189.32. This represents a 2.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,109 shares of company stock worth $2,191,123 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Commerce Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CBSH. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Commerce Bancshares by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 30,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Sound Stewardship LLC raised its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 3.9% in the third quarter. Sound Stewardship LLC now owns 4,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 51.1% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Commerce Bancshares by 3.6% during the third quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 18,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,084,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.