Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $157.69 and last traded at $157.4150, with a volume of 461053 shares. The stock had previously closed at $156.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Monday, June 1st. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Stephens raised shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $131.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cullen/Frost Bankers currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $151.92.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Down 0.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $144.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.74. The company has a market capitalization of $9.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.54.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last posted its 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. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 22.86% and a return on equity of 15.58%. The business had revenue of $574.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $587.28 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 10.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This is a positive change from Cullen/Frost Bankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio is 40.12%.

Insider Transactions at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In related news, EVP Carol Jean Severyn sold 837 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.29, for a total value of $124,118.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,885,062.48. The trade was a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cullen/Frost Bankers

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CFR. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 6,715 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 784 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,323 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,286,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Carlson Capital L.P. boosted its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 120.0% during the first quarter. Carlson Capital L.P. now owns 28,818 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,950,000 after purchasing an additional 15,718 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the first quarter valued at about $25,827,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 11.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,210,722 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $165,966,000 after purchasing an additional 127,483 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

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.