Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) Short Interest Update

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 5,040,000 shares, a growth of 9.8% from the November 15th total of 4,590,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,890,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days. Approximately 3.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Comerica

In other news, EVP Bruce Mitchell sold 7,564 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,021,821.60. This represents a 31.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Harry Weber sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.23, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 29.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,456 shares of company stock valued at $977,287. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Comerica by 9.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $901,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Comerica by 96.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 32,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,925,000 after buying an additional 15,758 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Comerica during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Comerica by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 10,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of Comerica by 42.5% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 46,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,767,000 after acquiring an additional 13,784 shares during the period. 80.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Comerica from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America cut Comerica from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $52.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on Comerica from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Comerica from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.27.

Comerica Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of CMA traded up $0.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $66.58. 3,631,386 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,121,829. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a PE ratio of 16.65 and a beta of 1.23. Comerica has a 52 week low of $45.32 and a 52 week high of $73.45.

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

Comerica announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Comerica Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. Comerica’s payout ratio is 71.00%.

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.