Comerica (NYSE:CMA) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $71.63 and last traded at $71.36, with a volume of 109887 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $70.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CMA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Comerica from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Comerica from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Comerica from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Comerica from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Comerica from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Comerica has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.81.

Comerica Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $9.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.78 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $61.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.30.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.16. Comerica had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $806.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Comerica Incorporated will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.02%. Comerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.00%.

Comerica announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Comerica news, EVP James Harry Weber sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.23, for a total value of $410,995.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $997,326.79. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Bruce Mitchell sold 7,564 shares of Comerica stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.20, for a total value of $470,480.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,021,821.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James Harry Weber sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.23, for a total transaction of $410,995.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $997,326.79. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,001 shares of company stock worth $1,123,650 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CMA. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its position in shares of Comerica by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 237,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,130,000 after purchasing an additional 11,049 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Comerica in the first quarter worth $1,764,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Comerica by 66.2% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 62,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,209,000 after acquiring an additional 25,040 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Comerica by 39.3% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 220,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,262,000 after acquiring an additional 62,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new stake in shares of Comerica in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,767,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

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.