Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Has Lowered Expectations for Comerica (NYSE:CMA) Stock Price

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) had its target price reduced by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $82.00 to $77.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on CMA. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Comerica from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Comerica from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised Comerica from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Compass Point raised their price objective on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.33.

Comerica Price Performance

Shares of CMA opened at $62.48 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $65.68 and a 200-day moving average of $60.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $8.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.62 and a beta of 1.26. Comerica has a 1 year low of $45.32 and a 1 year high of $73.45.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by ($0.05). Comerica had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 12.54%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Comerica will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Comerica’s payout ratio is currently 71.00%.

Comerica announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Allysun C. Fleming sold 1,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.83, for a total transaction of $95,811.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $600,885.90. The trade was a 13.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comerica

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Comerica by 26.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 21,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 4,499 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Comerica by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 7,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 749 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Comerica by 188.9% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 91,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,645,000 after buying an additional 59,500 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Comerica by 198.4% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 117,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,001,000 after buying an additional 78,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its position in Comerica by 21.4% in the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 118,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,055,000 after acquiring an additional 20,920 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

About Comerica

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.