Comerica Bank raised its stake in Old National Bancorp by 27.8% in the fourth quarter, adding 57,152 shares and bringing its holding to 263,057 shares valued at $5,869,000, according to its latest SEC filing. The position represented 0.07% of Old National Bancorp.
Old National Bancorp opened at $23.97 on Friday, moving near a 50-day average of $22.87 and a 200-day average of $22.63. The stock has traded between $19.39 and $26.17 over the past year, and the company carries a market value of $9.26 billion with a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 0.83.
The latest buying comes after Old National Bancorp reported quarterly earnings on April 22. The company posted $0.61 in earnings per share, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by one cent, while revenue came in at $702.69 million versus an expected $706.62 million. Revenue rose 44.4% from a year earlier, when the bank reported $0.45 per share, and return on equity was 15.41% with a net margin of 18.90%.
Management also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.145 per share, equal to an annualized payout of $0.58 and a yield of 2.4%. The dividend is set to be paid on Saturday, May 16, to stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5, the ex-dividend date. Old National Bancorp's payout ratio is 29.90%.
The buying by Comerica fits a broader pattern of institutional activity around old national bank, where hedge funds and asset managers now hold 83.66% of the stock. Recent attention has also included a hold-to-buy upgrade from TD Cowen and a $30.00 price target from National Bank Financial. Analysts expect the company to earn 2.58 per share in the current fiscal year.
For investors, the next immediate test is whether the company can keep earnings momentum intact while the stock holds above its short- and long-term averages heading into the May 5 dividend cutoff. The market has already been given a cleaner read on the bank's profitability; what comes next is whether that translates into a steadier bid for the shares.