Comerica Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CMA)

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 20,293 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 321% compared to the typical daily volume of 4,819 call options.

Comerica Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CMA opened at $51.04 on Friday. Comerica has a twelve month low of $37.40 and a twelve month high of $57.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a PE ratio of 10.15 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50 day moving average is $50.67 and its 200 day moving average is $51.98.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $807.57 million. Comerica had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 16.51%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Comerica will post 5.08 EPS for the current year.

Comerica Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.56%. Comerica’s payout ratio is 56.46%.

Insider Transactions at Comerica

In related news, EVP Cassandra M. Mckinney sold 7,271 shares of Comerica stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.59, for a total value of $382,381.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,236 shares in the company, valued at $380,541.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Comerica by 188.3% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Comerica by 790.8% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 144,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,014,000 after buying an additional 128,496 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of Comerica by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 57,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,401,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Comerica by 13.3% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 9,085 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in Comerica by 58.9% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 55,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,301,000 after acquiring an additional 20,529 shares during the period. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CMA shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Comerica in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Comerica from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Comerica from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Comerica from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Comerica from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.13.

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.