Comerica Incorporated’s CMA board has approved an additional share repurchase authorization of up to 10 million shares of its outstanding common stock, with no expiration date. This new authorization is in addition to the five million shares available as of Sept. 30, 2024, under the prior share repurchase program. 

In the fourth quarter of 2024, Comerica plans to repurchase approximately $100 million worth of shares as part of its repurchase program.

Comerica’s Consistent Quarterly Dividend Payout

The bank also announced a quarterly cash dividend of 71 cents per share. The dividend will be paid out on Jan. 1, 2025, to its shareholders of record as of Dec. 13, 2024. 

In February 2023, the company hiked its quarterly dividend by 4.4% to 71 cents per share. It has increased its dividend payout twice in the past five years and has a payout ratio of 50%. Considering yesterday’s closing price of $63.28, CMA’s dividend yield is currently pinned at 4.49% compared with the industry’s average of 3.4%. These steady capital distribution activities will help in further enhancing shareholder confidence in the stock.

Similarly, other finance stocks like SEI Investments Company SEIC approved a $400 million increase in its stock repurchase program in October 2024, bringing the total available authorization to approximately $429 million. This amount includes the $29 million remaining under SEIC’s existing share repurchase authorization.

In the same month, Federated Hermes, Inc. FHI also authorized an additional share repurchase authorization of five million shares, with no expiration date. FHI’s existing repurchase program, approved in October 2023, had approximately 1.2 million shares remaining as of Sept. 2024.

CMA’s Strong Liquidity to Aid Capital Distribution

The bank has a solid liquidity profile. The company’s total liquidity capacity was $44.1 billion as of Sept. 30, 2024. Further, it also has a $16.8 billion capacity remaining in its discount window.  As of the same date, the company’s total debt (comprising short-term borrowings, and medium and long-term debt) aggregated $6.9 billion, which was significantly lower than its liquidity. 

It also has a strong capital position with a total capital ratio of 14.3% and a Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio of 11.97%.

CMA’s strong liquidity and solid balance sheet position are likely to help sustain its capital distributions in the long run.

Comerica’s Price Performance

In the past three months, CMA shares have gained 22.5% compared with the industry’s growth of 14.3%.

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CMA’s Zacks Rank

CMA currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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Comerica Incorporated (CMA) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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