Robert W. Baird Has Lowered Expectations for Comerica (NYSE:CMA) Stock Price

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) had its price objective reduced by investment analysts at Robert W. Baird from $80.00 to $75.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price indicates a potential upside of 19.55% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on CMA. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Comerica from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Comerica in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Comerica from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Comerica from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Comerica presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.48.

Comerica Stock Down 5.5 %

NYSE CMA opened at $62.73 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.78. Comerica has a twelve month low of $45.32 and a twelve month high of $73.45. The stock has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68 and a beta of 1.26.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last released its 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 net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 12.54%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Comerica will post 5.38 EPS for the current year.

Comerica announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Comerica news, EVP Allysun C. Fleming sold 1,392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.83, for a total value of $95,811.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $600,885.90. This trade represents a 13.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Comerica

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Comerica in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $132,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Comerica in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,184,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Comerica by 45.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 1,817 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Comerica by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Comerica during the fourth quarter worth $311,000. 80.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.