Comerica (NYSE:CMA) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $66.38, but opened at $63.46. Comerica shares last traded at $63.35, with a volume of 349,073 shares.

The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.25 by ($0.05). 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 company posted $1.46 EPS.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.53%. Comerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.00%.

Comerica announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CMA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Comerica from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Comerica from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Truist Financial raised Comerica to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Comerica from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Comerica from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.71.

Insider Activity at Comerica

In other Comerica news, EVP Allysun C. Fleming sold 1,392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.83, for a total value of $95,811.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $600,885.90. This trade represents a 13.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comerica

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Comerica in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,184,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Comerica by 45.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 1,817 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Comerica by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comerica in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $311,000. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Comerica in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $370,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Comerica Trading Down 5.5 %

The company has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $65.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.78.

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.