With the earnings season nearing its end, the Finance sector appears to be one of the best performers. About 72.2% S&P 500 stocks in the finance sector have reported better-than-expected results so far.
Comerica Incorporated CMA is one such company that delivered a positive earnings surprise this time. The company benefitted from an increase in revenues and lower expenses.
Shares of Comerica have gained 30.7% in the last six months, outperforming the 18.2% growth for the Zacks categorized Banks - Major Regional industry
What Makes Comerica an Attractive Pick Now?
Efficient Expense Management: Comerica’s focus on reducing expenses resulted in lower costs in first-quarter 2017. Further, under its GEAR Up initiative, the company expects to make an additional $125 million savings this year. Also, it expects overall expenses to decline 4–5%.
Upward Estimate Revisions: Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the stock was revised 8% upward to $1.07 for the current quarter and 8.9% to $4.54 for the current year. This indicates analysts’ optimism about the company’s earnings performance.
Strong Leverage: Comerica’s debt/equity ratio is 0.65 compared with the industry average of 0.86. The relatively strong financial health of the company will help it perform better under a dynamic business environment compared with its peers.
Comerica currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.
Some of the other financial stocks worth considering are M&T Bank Corporation MTB, sporting a Zacks Rank #1, Northern Trust Corporation NTRS and The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. PNC, both carrying a Zacks Rank #2.
M&T Bank witnessed an upward earnings estimate revision of 4.6%, over the past 30 days. Also, its share price gained 39.6% over the last one year.
Northern Trust's earnings estimates moved upward by 1.9% over the past 30 days, for the current year. Its share price increased 31.7%, over the last one year.
PNC Financial’s current-year earnings estimates were revised 2.4% upward, over the past 30 days. Over the last one year, its share price surged 44.9%.
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PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (The) (PNC): Free Stock Analysis Report
Comerica Incorporated (CMA): Free Stock Analysis Report
M&T Bank Corporation (MTB): Free Stock Analysis Report
Northern Trust Corporation (NTRS): Free Stock Analysis Report
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