Comerica (NYSE:CMA) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.07 EPS

Key Points

• Comerica reported a Q3 EPS of $1.35, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.27 by $0.08, although this marks a slight decrease from the previous year's $1.37 EPS.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, yielding 3.8%, with a payout ratio of 54.41%.
• Despite the positive earnings report, Comerica's stock dropped by 6.0% following the announcement.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The financial services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.07, RTT News reports. Comerica had a return on equity of 10.92% and a net margin of 14.92%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share.

Comerica Trading Down 6.0%

Shares of NYSE:CMA opened at $73.92 on Friday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $70.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.68. Comerica has a 1 year low of $48.12 and a 1 year high of $83.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $9.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.16 and a beta of 0.96.

Comerica Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Comerica's payout ratio is 54.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Comerica in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Comerica in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Comerica and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Comerica from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Comerica and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Comerica has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $71.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comerica

In other news, EVP Allysun C. Fleming sold 2,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.03, for a total transaction of $140,763.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,424 shares in the company, valued at approximately $631,690.72. This represents a 18.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider James Mcgregor Carr sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.28, for a total value of $269,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 33,471 shares in the company, valued at $2,251,928.88. The trade was a 10.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Comerica

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in Comerica during the second quarter worth about $12,477,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in Comerica in the second quarter worth $4,693,000. HRT Financial LP boosted its position in Comerica by 905.9% during the second quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 56,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,397,000 after buying an additional 51,290 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Comerica by 86.0% during the second quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 109,516 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,533,000 after buying an additional 50,637 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Comerica by 63.1% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 104,042 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,206,000 after buying an additional 40,241 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.74% of the company's stock.

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.