Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $131.00 to $145.00. Citigroup currently has a sell rating on the stock. Cullen/Frost Bankers traded as high as $155.41 and last traded at $154.9970, with a volume of 849482 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $155.31.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings raised Cullen/Frost Bankers from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $150.73.

Insider Activity at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In related news, EVP Carol Jean Severyn sold 837 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.29, for a total transaction of $124,118.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,712 shares in the company, valued at $1,885,062.48. This represents a 6.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cullen/Frost Bankers

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter worth $28,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 248 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 252.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 257 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co grew its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 40.4% during the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 320 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $142.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.55.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The bank reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $574.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.28 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.58% and a net margin of 22.86%.During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 10.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Cullen/Frost Bankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio is 40.12%.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Company Profile

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc is the holding company for Frost Bank, a Texas-chartered financial institution whose origins date back to 1868 in San Antonio. As one of the oldest banking organizations in the state, it offers a broad range of services to individuals, small and large businesses, and institutional clients. Core banking activities include commercial lending, deposit services, cash management and trade finance, while consumer products cover residential mortgages, personal lines of credit and home equity loans.

Beyond traditional banking, the company provides comprehensive treasury and equipment leasing solutions tailored to support working capital and capital expenditure requirements.