Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) from hold to sell, adding a more bearish view to the stock’s recent analyst coverage.
• Despite the downgrade, the broader analyst picture remains mixed: the stock still carries a consensus Hold rating with a $61.71 average target price, and several firms recently reiterated hold or positive views.
• Commerce Bancshares beat Q2 earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $1.10 EPS on $498.91 million in revenue, but year-over-year EPS was slightly lower and valuation concerns may be limiting upside.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

CBSH has been the subject of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Commerce Bancshares from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and issued a $63.00 target price (up from $62.00) on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research report on Friday. Hovde Group lowered their price target on Commerce Bancshares from $63.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Commerce Bancshares from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued a "positive" rating and issued a $65.00 price objective (up from $61.00) on shares of Commerce Bancshares in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.71.

Commerce Bancshares Price Performance

CBSH stock opened at $59.14 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Commerce Bancshares has a 52 week low of $46.99 and a 52 week high of $62.42.

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $498.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $492.22 million. Commerce Bancshares had a net margin of 26.07% and a return on equity of 14.31%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Commerce Bancshares will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Commerce Bancshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Commerce Bancshares by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,690,039 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $768,877,000 after acquiring an additional 1,098,142 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 39.8% in the 4th quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 631,981 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,078,000 after purchasing an additional 179,894 shares in the last quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 161,306 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,443,000 after purchasing an additional 20,277 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Commerce Bancshares by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,780,678 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $147,097,000 after purchasing an additional 174,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Commerce Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth $3,390,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Commerce Bancshares News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Commerce Bancshares this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CBSH reported Q2 EPS of $1.10, ahead of the $1.04 consensus, and revenue of $498.91 million versus expectations of $492.22 million, signaling solid operating performance. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management noted higher net interest income and fee income, which helped offset rising costs and credit loss provisions, suggesting underlying business strength. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several headlines highlighted that Commerce Bancshares topped second-quarter expectations on stronger margin and loan growth, reinforcing the earnings beat narrative. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Hold rating and kept its $65 price target, indicating a balanced view after the results rather than a major change in sentiment. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Stephens also moved to a Hold view, suggesting the stock may already reflect much of the good news from the quarter. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, year-over-year EPS was slightly lower than last year’s quarter, and some commentary noted valuation concerns tied to excess capital, which may limit upside. Article Title

Commerce Bancshares Company Profile

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.

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