Comerica (NYSE:CMA) Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to “Equal Weight” Rating

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) was upgraded by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $73.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 4.15% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised Comerica from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. 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 research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Comerica from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Comerica from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.86.

Comerica Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CMA opened at $70.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.52 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $61.61 and a 200 day moving average of $55.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. Comerica has a one year low of $42.55 and a one year high of $71.63.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $806.49 million. Comerica had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 11.17%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Comerica will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comerica declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Allysun C. Fleming sold 1,392 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $600,885.90. This trade represents a 13.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Bruce Mitchell sold 7,564 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $1,021,821.60. This represents a 31.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,001 shares of company stock valued at $1,123,650. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CMA. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Comerica in the third quarter worth approximately $348,000. Atom Investors LP acquired a new stake in Comerica during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,386,000. Azora Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of Comerica by 7.8% in the third quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 2,230,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $133,621,000 after acquiring an additional 161,181 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Comerica in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $197,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Comerica in the third quarter valued at $383,000. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.