Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,520,000 shares, a drop of 8.1% from the September 30th total of 4,920,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,930,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 3.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CMA shares. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Comerica from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Comerica from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Three research 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, Comerica presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comerica

In related news, EVP Christine M. Moore sold 2,545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.51, for a total value of $146,362.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,605,104.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Christine M. Moore sold 2,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.51, for a total value of $146,362.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,910 shares in the company, valued at $1,605,104.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $470,480.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,021,821.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,609 shares of company stock valued at $1,027,839. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMA. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Comerica by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 161,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,867,000 after purchasing an additional 1,858 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Comerica by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP grew its position in Comerica by 11.3% during the first quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 6,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 644 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Comerica by 13.1% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 64,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,375,000 after acquiring an additional 7,418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Comerica by 79.2% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 346,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,071,000 after purchasing an additional 153,301 shares in the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Comerica Stock Performance

Comerica stock traded down $0.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $62.89. 1,515,334 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,149,562. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.32. Comerica has a twelve month low of $39.94 and a twelve month high of $66.06. The firm has a market cap of $8.27 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75 and a beta of 1.23.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.16. Comerica had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 11.17%. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $806.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Comerica will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.