Comerica (NYSE:CMA) Downgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group to “Neutral”

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) was downgraded by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Finviz reports. They currently have a $71.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 12.56% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America lowered Comerica from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $55.00 to $52.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wedbush raised Comerica from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $52.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Comerica from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Compass Point raised their target price on Comerica from $64.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Comerica has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.14.

Comerica Stock Performance

Shares of Comerica stock opened at $63.08 on Tuesday. Comerica has a 52 week low of $45.32 and a 52 week high of $73.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.67. The company has a market cap of $8.30 billion, a PE ratio of 15.77 and a beta of 1.26.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Comerica had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 11.17%. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $806.49 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Comerica will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Comerica declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Comerica

In other Comerica news, EVP Bruce Mitchell sold 7,564 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.20, for a total value of $470,480.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,021,821.60. This trade represents a 31.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP James Harry Weber sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.23, for a total value of $410,995.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $997,326.79. The trade was a 29.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 15,456 shares of company stock valued at $977,287. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Comerica

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CMA. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Comerica by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Comerica by 134.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 856,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,309,000 after purchasing an additional 490,468 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Comerica by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $901,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Comerica by 96.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 32,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,925,000 after buying an additional 15,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Comerica in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.