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

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) was the target of a significant 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.

Comerica Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of CMA stock opened at $59.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.75 billion, a PE 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. Comerica has a 1 year low of $45.32 and a 1 year high of $73.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $63.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.36.

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 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 period last year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Comerica will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Comerica Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Comerica

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in shares of Comerica by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC bought a new stake in Comerica in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Comerica by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Comerica in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Comerica by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. 80.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Comerica from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Comerica from $73.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Argus raised shares of Comerica to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Comerica from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Comerica from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Comerica has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.29.

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.