Comerica (NYSE:CMA) Upgraded to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Comerica has been upgraded by Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" to an "equal weight" rating, with a new price target of $83.00, suggesting a potential upside of 3.50% from its current stock price.
• The stock has an average rating of "Hold" from multiple analysts, with a consensus target price of $68.65, reflecting mixed opinions on its future performance.
• Recent insider transactions included significant share sales from executives, indicating a 18.22% decrease in ownership for one executive, which could signal concerns among insiders about the company's stock performance.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $83.00 price objective on the financial services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would indicate a potential upside of 1.68% from the company's previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. DA Davidson set a $60.00 price target on Comerica and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Comerica in a report on Monday, July 21st. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Comerica in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. They set a "hold" rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price target on Comerica from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Comerica in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $68.65.

Comerica Stock Up 1.8%

CMA traded up $1.43 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $81.63. The company had a trading volume of 780,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,034,758. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $69.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.69. Comerica has a 52 week low of $48.12 and a 52 week high of $83.22. The company has a market capitalization of $10.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.66, a PEG ratio of 12.64 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.19. Comerica had a return on equity of 10.92% and a net margin of 14.92%.The company had revenue of $849.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $844.39 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Comerica will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comerica

In other news, insider James Mcgregor Carr sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.28, for a total transaction of $269,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 33,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,251,928.88. This represents a 10.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allysun C. Fleming sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.03, for a total transaction of $140,763.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,424 shares of the company's stock, valued at $631,690.72. This represents a 18.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMA. Lynx Investment Advisory raised its stake in shares of Comerica by 3.3% during the second quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 5,135 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Comerica by 41.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 597 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Comerica by 19.6% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,152 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Comerica by 0.5% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 37,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,207,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, MAI Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Comerica by 21.7% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.