Comerica (NYSE:CMA) Price Target Cut to $76.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

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

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Comerica from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Comerica from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Comerica from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Comerica from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Comerica from $76.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.33.

Comerica Stock Up 1.2 %

Comerica stock opened at $63.26 on Thursday. Comerica has a fifty-two week low of $45.32 and a fifty-two week high of $73.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.95. The stock has a market cap of $8.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60 and a beta of 1.26.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by ($0.05). Comerica had a return on equity of 12.04% and a net margin of 13.98%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Comerica will post 5.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Comerica’s payout ratio is 56.57%.

Comerica announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Allysun C. Fleming sold 1,392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.83, for a total value of $95,811.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comerica

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Boston Trust Walden Corp bought a new stake in shares of Comerica during the 4th quarter worth $204,000. Sylvest Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Comerica during the fourth quarter worth about $614,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC bought a new position in shares of Comerica during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. New England Research & Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Comerica during the 4th quarter valued at about $784,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Comerica in the 4th quarter worth approximately $132,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

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.