Comerica (NYSE:CMA) Given “Overweight” Rating at Stephens

Stephens reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of Comerica (NYSE:CMA) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $72.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on CMA. Argus upgraded shares of Comerica to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Comerica from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Comerica from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Comerica from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Comerica from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $51.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.67.

Comerica Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CMA opened at $59.41 on Wednesday. Comerica has a 12-month low of $45.32 and a 12-month high of $73.45. The company has a market cap of $7.80 billion, a PE ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.25 by ($0.05). Comerica had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 12.04%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Comerica will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Comerica’s dividend payout ratio is 56.57%.

Institutional Trading of Comerica

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Comerica by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,035,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $311,464,000 after purchasing an additional 114,072 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Comerica by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,977,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $301,745,000 after purchasing an additional 96,084 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Comerica by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,431,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $274,092,000 after buying an additional 125,514 shares during the last quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Comerica by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 4,050,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $250,492,000 after buying an additional 550,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in Comerica by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,481,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $153,462,000 after buying an additional 72,391 shares during the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is 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.