Citigroup Downgrades Comerica (NYSE:CMA) to Neutral

Comerica (NYSE:CMA) was downgraded by equities researchers at Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $56.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their previous price target of $60.00. Citigroup’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 5.24% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on CMA. Raymond James downgraded shares of Comerica from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Comerica from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Comerica in a report on Friday, April 19th. Argus cut shares of Comerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Bank Of America (Bofa) upped their price objective on shares of Comerica from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Comerica presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.89.

Comerica Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CMA opened at $53.21 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $51.87 and a 200-day moving average of $50.31. The company has a market capitalization of $7.06 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. Comerica has a one year low of $30.98 and a one year high of $57.39.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $807.57 million. Comerica had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 13.11%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Comerica will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Comerica news, EVP Wendy Bridges sold 3,034 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.74, for a total value of $160,013.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $920,840.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Comerica news, EVP Wendy Bridges sold 3,034 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.74, for a total transaction of $160,013.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $920,840.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Cassandra M. Mckinney sold 7,271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.59, for a total transaction of $382,381.89. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $380,541.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Comerica

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. lifted its stake in Comerica by 10.1% in the first quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 13,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Comerica during the 1st quarter valued at $233,000. Swiss National Bank grew its position in Comerica by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 260,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,325,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Comerica in the first quarter worth $11,872,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Comerica by 865.5% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 37,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,080,000 after purchasing an additional 33,910 shares during the period. 80.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.