Royal Bank of Canada Has Lowered Expectations for Comerica (NYSE:CMA) Stock Price

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) had its price objective trimmed by Royal Bank of Canada from $78.00 to $76.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on CMA. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Comerica from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Comerica from $76.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Comerica from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.33.

Comerica Stock Down 0.3 %

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

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Comerica will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comerica Announces Dividend

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

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

Insider Activity at Comerica

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in Comerica by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC bought a new position in shares of Comerica in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Comerica in the third quarter worth about $36,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in Comerica by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Comerica in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.