The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Comerica (NYSE:CMA) Stock

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

CMA has been the subject of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Comerica from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Comerica from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Comerica from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, DA Davidson lifted 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Comerica presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.10.

Comerica Price Performance

Shares of Comerica stock opened at $72.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $63.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Comerica has a 1-year low of $42.55 and a 1-year high of $73.45.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $806.49 million. Comerica had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 11.17%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Comerica will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comerica Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Comerica’s payout ratio is currently 71.00%.

Comerica announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Comerica

In other Comerica news, EVP Bruce Mitchell sold 7,564 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.20, for a total value of $470,480.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,021,821.60. The trade was a 31.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP James Harry Weber sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.23, for a total transaction of $410,995.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $997,326.79. This represents a 29.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,456 shares of company stock valued at $977,287. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Comerica

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Comerica in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Comerica in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Comerica by 39.3% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Comerica in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Comerica by 2,723.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.