Comerica Incorporated Just Beat Analyst Forecasts, And Analysts Have Been Updating Their Predictions
It’s been a good week for Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) shareholders, because the company has just released its latest quarterly results, and the shares gained 8.2% to US$45.12. Revenues were US$710m, approximately in line with whatthe analysts expected, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) crushed expectations, coming in at US$1.44, an impressive 72% ahead of estimates. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there’s been a strong change in the company’s prospects, or if it’s business as usual. So we gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.
Check out our latest analysis for Comerica
Taking into account the latest results, the consensus forecast from Comerica’s 17 analysts is for revenues of US$2.79b in 2021, which would reflect a meaningful 15% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to increase 5.4% to US$3.87. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$2.80b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$3.58 in 2021. The analysts seems to have become more bullish on the business, judging by their new earnings per share estimates.
There’s been no major changes to the consensus price target of US$44.80, suggesting that the improved earnings per share outlook is not enough to have a long-term positive impact on the stock’s valuation. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so – it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. The most optimistic Comerica analyst has a price target of US$65.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$34.00. This is a fairly broad spread of estimates, suggesting that analysts are forecasting a wide range of possible outcomes for the business.
Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. It’s clear from the latest estimates that Comerica’s rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 15% revenue growth noticeably faster than its historical growth of 3.4%p.a. over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to grow their revenue at 1.5% per year. It seems obvious that, while the growth outlook is brighter than the recent past, the analysts also expect Comerica to grow faster than the wider industry.
The Bottom Line
The most important thing here is that the analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates, suggesting that there has been a clear increase in optimism towards Comerica following these results. Happily, there were no major changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow faster than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at US$44.80, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.
Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. We have estimates – from multiple Comerica analysts – going out to 2024, and you can see them free on our platform here.
And what about risks? Every company has them, and we’ve spotted 1 warning sign for Comerica you should know about.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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