Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) Short Interest Update

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,130,000 shares, a growth of 15.4% from the January 15th total of 3,580,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Comerica

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its stake in shares of Comerica by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Comerica in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Comerica in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Comerica by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Comerica during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CMA. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Comerica from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Comerica from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Comerica from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their target price on Comerica from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.57.

Comerica Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of CMA stock traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $67.13. 1,640,521 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,372,567. The stock has a market cap of $8.83 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Comerica has a 12 month low of $45.32 and a 12 month high of $73.45.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Comerica will post 5.34 EPS for the current year.

Comerica declared that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.