The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Positive Forecast for Comerica (NYSE:CMA) Stock Price

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) had its target price raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $71.00 to $85.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on CMA. Stephens increased their target price on Comerica from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Comerica from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Comerica from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Comerica from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Comerica from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.10.

Comerica Stock Performance

CMA opened at $72.66 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $9.56 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.39. Comerica has a fifty-two week low of $42.55 and a fifty-two week high of $73.45.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last announced its earnings results 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 business 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 business posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Comerica will post 5.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comerica Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. Comerica’s payout ratio is presently 71.00%.

Comerica announced that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP James Harry Weber sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.23, for a total transaction of $410,995.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $997,326.79. The trade was a 29.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bruce Mitchell sold 7,564 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.20, for a total transaction of $470,480.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,021,821.60. The trade was a 31.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,456 shares of company stock valued at $977,287 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comerica

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Comerica in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Comerica in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Comerica during the second quarter worth about $37,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Comerica by 39.3% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Comerica by 2,723.3% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the period. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.