Comerica (NYSE:CMA) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.16 EPS

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.16, RTT News reports. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $807.57 million. Comerica had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 16.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.39 EPS.

Comerica Stock Performance

Comerica stock traded up $0.90 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $51.56. 2,364,256 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,627,854. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.95. Comerica has a 52 week low of $28.40 and a 52 week high of $57.39. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.23. The firm has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.25 and a beta of 1.27.

Comerica Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.51%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Comerica’s payout ratio is presently 56.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comerica

In related news, EVP Wendy Bridges sold 3,034 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.74, for a total value of $160,013.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $920,840.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Cassandra M. Mckinney sold 1,616 shares of Comerica stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.64, for a total transaction of $88,298.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $454,276.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Wendy Bridges sold 3,034 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.74, for a total transaction of $160,013.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $920,840.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Comerica by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Comerica by 22.7% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 35,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,216,000 after purchasing an additional 6,590 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its holdings in shares of Comerica by 6.2% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 17,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,581,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its position in shares of Comerica by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 27,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,163 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Comerica by 119.2% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 7,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $693,000 after acquiring an additional 4,165 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CMA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James downgraded shares of Comerica from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Argus lowered shares of Comerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Comerica in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $59.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Comerica from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Comerica from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Comerica currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.02.

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.