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Comerica (CMA) Hikes Quarterly Dividend by 4.4% to 71 cents

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Comerica Incorporated (CMA - Free Report) has announced a quarterly cash dividend of 71 cents per share, marking a hike of 4.4% from the prior payout. The dividend will be paid out on Apr 1 to shareholders of record as of Mar 15.

Prior to this, Comerica hiked its dividends by 1.5% to 68 cents per share in January 2020. Considering the last day’s closing price of $70.10, the company’s dividend yield is at 4.1%, currently.

The yield is also significantly impressive compared with the industry average of 3.18%. The yield, representing a steady income stream, attracts investors.

Apart from regular dividend payments, Comerica has a share repurchase program in place. In 2021, the board approved an additional share-buyback plan, with an authorization to repurchase up to an additional 10 million shares. In the first half of 2022, the company repurchased approximately 377,000 shares at an average price of 92.39.

As of Dec 31, 2022, the company had approximately 5 million shares remaining under this plan. We believe such disbursements highlight the company’s operational strength and commitment to enhance shareholders’ wealth.

Comerica’s focus on improving operational efficiency led to the introduction of GEAR Up initiatives in mid-2016. Since the implementation of this initiative, the bank has consolidated numerous banking centers, significantly reduced retirement plan expenses and retrenched a number of employees.

In Dec 2022, it expanded its operations in the Southeast market by adding offices in two states namely South Carolina and Georgia. This reflects CMA’s commitment to drive growth through strategic investments.

Over the past six months, shares of Comerica lost 13.5% against a 10.3% gain of the industry it belongs to.

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Comerica currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Dividend Hikes by Other Banks

Bank OZK (OZK - Free Report) announced a cash dividend of 34 cents per share, marking a 3.03% increase from its prior payout. The dividend was paid out on Jan 24 to shareholders of record as of Jan 17.

This represents the 50th consecutive quarter of dividend hike by Bank OZK. Prior to this, OZK hiked its dividend by 3.1% to 33 cents per share in October 2022.

Cadence Bank (CADE - Free Report) announced a cash dividend of 23.5 cents per share, representing an increase of 6.8% from the previous dividend payout. The dividend will be paid out on Apr 3 to shareholders of record as of Mar 15.

Prior to this, CADE hiked its dividend 9.1% to 24 cents per share in October 2022.


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