Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) Short Interest Up 17.7% in February

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 6,260,000 shares, an increase of 17.7% from the February 13th total of 5,320,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,450,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 4.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CMA. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Comerica from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of Comerica in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays increased their target price on Comerica from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Comerica from $71.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Compass Point upped their price target on Comerica from $64.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Three 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.29.

Comerica Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CMA traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $59.04. 595,430 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,035,373. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $63.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.39. Comerica has a 12 month low of $45.32 and a 12 month high of $73.45.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.25 by ($0.05). Comerica had a return on equity of 12.04% and a net margin of 13.98%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. Analysts predict that Comerica will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Comerica’s payout ratio is presently 56.57%.

Institutional Trading of Comerica

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Comerica by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,732 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Comerica during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,178,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Comerica by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $804,000 after buying an additional 2,782 shares during the period. LifeWealth Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Comerica during the 4th quarter valued at $224,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in Comerica in the fourth quarter valued at $25,692,000. 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.