Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $136.00.

CFR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen raised Cullen/Frost Bankers to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $140.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

NYSE:CFR opened at $128.27 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $124.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.64. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a 12-month low of $100.31 and a 12-month high of $146.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The bank reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $567.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $565.54 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.84% and a net margin of 21.99%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.24 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio is 41.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Coolidge E. Rhodes, Jr. sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.00, for a total transaction of $88,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $481,965. This represents a 15.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cullen/Frost Bankers

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 2nd quarter worth $90,484,000. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 2,024.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 373,977 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,409,000 after purchasing an additional 356,373 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 58.7% during the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 822,878 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $104,861,000 after purchasing an additional 304,491 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,769,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the third quarter worth approximately $29,687,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Company Profile

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Frost Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking services in Texas. The company offers commercial banking services to corporations, including financing for industrial and commercial properties, interim construction related to industrial and commercial properties, equipment, inventories and accounts receivables, and acquisitions; and treasury management services, as well as originates commercial leasing services.