Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,130,000 shares, an increase of 15.4% from the January 15th total of 3,580,000 shares. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Comerica Trading Up 0.5 %

CMA stock traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $67.13. 1,640,521 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,372,567. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $64.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.32. The company has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.37 and a beta of 1.25. Comerica has a fifty-two week low of $45.32 and a fifty-two week high of $73.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.25 by ($0.05). Comerica had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 12.04%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Comerica will post 5.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Comerica announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CMA shares. Compass Point lifted their target price on Comerica from $64.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Comerica from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Comerica from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Comerica from $64.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned 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 $68.57.

Institutional Trading of Comerica

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its stake in Comerica by 126.7% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 7,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 4,162 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Comerica in the fourth quarter valued at $130,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Comerica by 865.3% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 61,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,817,000 after buying an additional 55,319 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Comerica during the fourth quarter worth approximately $381,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Comerica by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 44,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,723,000 after buying an additional 9,521 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.74% of the company’s stock.

Comerica Company Profile

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.