Comerica’s (CMA) Overweight Rating Reiterated at Stephens

Stephens reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of Comerica (NYSE:CMA) in a research report report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $64.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CMA. Argus cut Comerica from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. DA Davidson reissued a neutral rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Comerica in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Comerica from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Comerica in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a hold rating and a $59.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank Of America (Bofa) upped their target price on Comerica from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $57.02.

Comerica Price Performance

Shares of CMA opened at $51.56 on Friday. Comerica has a 12-month low of $28.40 and a 12-month high of $57.39. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.25 and a beta of 1.27.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.16. Comerica had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 13.11%. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $807.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Comerica will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.51%. Comerica’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Cassandra M. Mckinney sold 1,616 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.64, for a total transaction of $88,298.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $454,276.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Wendy Bridges sold 3,034 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.74, for a total transaction of $160,013.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $920,840.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Cassandra M. Mckinney sold 1,616 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.64, for a total value of $88,298.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $454,276.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Comerica

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Comerica by 1,192.2% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,878,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $168,405,000 after buying an additional 3,578,355 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Comerica in the fourth quarter worth $113,763,000. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Comerica by 9.4% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 13,313,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $578,094,000 after buying an additional 1,145,951 shares during the last quarter. Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in Comerica in the fourth quarter worth $63,548,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its position in Comerica by 129.3% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,930,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,716,000 after buying an additional 1,088,330 shares during the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comerica Company Profile

Comerica Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services. The company operates through Commercial Bank, Retail Bank, Wealth Management, and Finance segments. The Commercial Bank segment offers various products and services, including commercial loans and lines of credit, deposits, cash management, payment solutions, card services, capital market products, international trade finance, letters of credit, foreign exchange management services, and loan syndication services for small and middle market businesses, multinational corporations, and governmental entities.