Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts Comerica (NYSE:CMA) Price Target to $77.00

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) had its price target dropped by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $82.00 to $77.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 22.74% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on CMA. Barclays raised their target price on Comerica from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Comerica from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Comerica from $64.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Comerica in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “sell” rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Comerica from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Three equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.24.

Comerica Price Performance

Shares of CMA stock opened at $62.73 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $65.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.78. 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 12 month low of $45.32 and a 12 month high of $73.45. The company has a market capitalization of $8.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68 and a beta of 1.26.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Comerica will post 5.38 EPS for the current year.

Comerica declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Comerica news, EVP Allysun C. Fleming sold 1,392 shares of Comerica stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.83, for a total transaction of $95,811.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $600,885.90. The trade was a 13.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMA. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in shares of Comerica by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Comerica in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Comerica by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Comerica in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Comerica by 19.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.