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

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,580,000 shares, a decline of 22.4% from the March 15th total of 5,900,000 shares. Currently, 3.5% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,210,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Comerica Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of CMA stock traded up $1.06 during trading on Thursday, hitting $53.37. 1,211,338 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,215,766. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63 and a beta of 0.96. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $57.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. Comerica has a twelve month low of $45.32 and a twelve month high of $73.45.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.11. Comerica had a return on equity of 12.04% and a net margin of 13.98%. The company had revenue of $829.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $839.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Comerica will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.32%. Comerica's payout ratio is presently 56.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comerica

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CMA. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in shares of Comerica by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,870 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $474,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Comerica by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,040 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Comerica by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 10,859 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $672,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in Comerica by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 824 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Comerica by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,823 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.74% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on CMA shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Comerica from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Comerica from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Comerica from $65.00 to $57.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Comerica from $66.00 to $57.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Comerica from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $64.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.84.

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.