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

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

Institutional Trading of Comerica

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new stake in Comerica during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Comerica by 38.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 43,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,596,000 after buying an additional 11,981 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Comerica by 158.2% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 20,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,218,000 after buying an additional 12,454 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Comerica by 17.3% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Comerica by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 413,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,784,000 after acquiring an additional 87,310 shares during the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Compass Point raised their price target on shares of Comerica from $64.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial raised Comerica to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Comerica from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on Comerica from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Comerica in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Comerica has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.29.

Comerica Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CMA traded up $0.73 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $59.06. 1,481,866 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,112,993. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.42. The firm has a market cap of $7.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77 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. Comerica has a 52-week low of $45.32 and a 52-week high of $73.45.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last posted its earnings results 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 12.04% and a net margin of 13.98%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Comerica will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.81%. Comerica’s payout ratio is currently 56.57%.

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.