Comerica Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:CMA)

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 5,664 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 62% compared to the average daily volume of 3,495 call options.

Comerica Stock Down 0.8 %

CMA traded down $0.48 on Tuesday, hitting $62.59. The company had a trading volume of 1,548,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,305,450. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.65 and a beta of 1.26. Comerica has a 52-week low of $45.32 and a 52-week high of $73.45.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $806.49 million. Comerica had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 11.17%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Comerica will post 5.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comerica declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan 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. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Comerica Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.54%. Comerica's payout ratio is 71.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CMA shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Comerica from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Comerica from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Comerica from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $67.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Allysun C. Fleming sold 1,392 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.83, for a total value of $95,811.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $600,885.90. This represents a 13.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP James Harry Weber sold 6,500 shares of Comerica stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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. Insiders sold 15,456 shares of company stock worth $977,287 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comerica

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Comerica by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 369,415 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,855,000 after purchasing an additional 91,626 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Comerica by 40.4% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 31,347 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,600,000 after acquiring an additional 9,016 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Comerica by 2.3% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 37,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,893,000 after acquiring an additional 848 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its position in Comerica by 1,404.8% in the 2nd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 81,816 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,176,000 after acquiring an additional 76,379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC bought a new position in Comerica in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $292,000. 80.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.