Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 8,010,000 shares, agrowthof46.2% from the July 15th total of 5,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,860,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days. Approximately6.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Approximately6.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,860,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Comerica Stock Performance

CMA opened at $67.5440 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. Comerica has a 52-week low of $48.12 and a 52-week high of $73.45. The firm has a market cap of $8.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.19 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average is $63.45 and its 200-day moving average is $60.17.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.19. Comerica had a return on equity of 10.92% and a net margin of 14.92%.The business had revenue of $849.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $844.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Comerica will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Comerica’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.41%.

Insider Activity at Comerica

In related news, insider James Mcgregor Carr sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.28, for a total value of $269,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 33,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,251,928.88. The trade was a 10.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allysun C. Fleming sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.03, for a total value of $140,763.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $631,690.72. This represents a 18.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Comerica

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of Comerica by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 13,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $780,000 after buying an additional 1,326 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Comerica by 3.8% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 11,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $666,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC raised its position in Comerica by 25.8% in the first quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 41,997 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,480,000 after purchasing an additional 8,604 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Comerica by 11.6% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 107,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,293,000 after purchasing an additional 11,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, tru Independence LLC raised its position in Comerica by 5.9% in the first quarter. tru Independence LLC now owns 85,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,024,000 after purchasing an additional 4,772 shares during the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on CMA shares. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Comerica in a research note on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group set a $64.00 target price on Comerica and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Comerica from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. DA Davidson set a $60.00 target price on Comerica and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Comerica from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Comerica has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.40.

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.