Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) Price Target Raised to $56.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) had its price target hoisted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $54.00 to $56.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on CBSH. Hovde Group reduced their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $63.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded Commerce Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $60.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Commerce Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.16.

Commerce Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of CBSH stock opened at $51.57 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $7.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.60. Commerce Bancshares has a 1-year low of $46.99 and a 1-year high of $63.19. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.86.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.02. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 26.37% and a return on equity of 14.78%. The company had revenue of $475.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $481.94 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. Commerce Bancshares’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Commerce Bancshares will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Commerce Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Commerce Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Commerce Bancshares news, SVP Margaret M. Rowe sold 861 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.69, for a total value of $44,505.09. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 5,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $296,803.98. This trade represents a 13.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Derrick Brooks sold 1,044 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.40, for a total value of $56,793.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,585 shares in the company, valued at $793,424. The trade was a 6.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 29,477 shares of company stock valued at $1,586,655 in the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Commerce Bancshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,690,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $768,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098,142 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,318,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $383,071,000 after purchasing an additional 566,853 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 5,660,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $296,287,000 after purchasing an additional 369,636 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 5.4% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,972,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $237,420,000 after purchasing an additional 202,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,049,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $159,597,000 after purchasing an additional 406,063 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Commerce Bancshares

Commerce Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company primarily engaged in providing a broad range of banking and financial services across the Midwest. Through its principal subsidiary, Commerce Bank, the company offers commercial and consumer banking, treasury management, trust and wealth advisory, and mortgage lending. Its diversified product suite includes deposit and loan products, cash management solutions, capital markets services, and private banking designed to meet the needs of individuals, small businesses, and large corporations.

The company’s commercial banking group delivers tailored credit facilities, equipment and inventory financing, asset-based lending, and merchant services.