Comerica (NYSE:CMA) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at UBS Group

UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Comerica (NYSE:CMA - Get Free Report) in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set a "sell" rating and a $64.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock. UBS Group's target price would suggest a potential downside of 0.64% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on CMA. Compass Point increased their price target on Comerica from $64.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Comerica from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $52.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Comerica from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Comerica from $64.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Comerica from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $67.68.

Comerica Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CMA traded down $2.06 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $64.41. 2,209,640 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,121,479. The stock has a market cap of $8.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.22 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Comerica has a fifty-two week low of $45.32 and a fifty-two week high of $73.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $66.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.19.

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

Comerica declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP James Harry Weber sold 6,500 shares of the business's 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 owns 15,773 shares in the company, valued at $997,326.79. The trade was a 29.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bruce Mitchell sold 7,564 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.20, for a total value of $470,480.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,428 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,021,821.60. This represents a 31.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,456 shares of company stock valued at $977,287. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CMA. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Comerica by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,207 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Comerica by 22.4% in the second quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,102 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Comerica by 39.3% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 737 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in Comerica by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 5,068 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Busey Bank raised its position in Comerica by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Busey Bank now owns 7,305 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.74% of the company's stock.

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.