Comerica (NYSE:CMA) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA)’s stock price 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. The stock had previously closed at $70.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CMA shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Comerica from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler lifted 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Comerica from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $50.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Comerica currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.81.

Comerica Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $9.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.52 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.51.

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

Comerica Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Comerica’s payout ratio is presently 71.00%.

Comerica declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Christine M. Moore sold 2,545 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.51, for a total value of $146,362.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,605,104.10. This represents a 8.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Allysun C. Fleming sold 1,392 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,730 shares in the company, valued at $600,885.90. The trade was a 13.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,001 shares of company stock worth $1,123,650 over the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comerica

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 11,049 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Comerica by 66.2% in the 2nd 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. increased its stake in shares of Comerica by 39.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new stake in Comerica in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,767,000. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in Comerica by 1,159.3% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 16,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $920,000 after purchasing an additional 15,407 shares during the period. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.