Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) Rating Increased to Hold at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) from an underperform rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $160.00 price target on the bank’s stock, up from their previous price target of $135.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on CFR. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Citigroup raised their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $131.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Stephens upgraded shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Monday, June 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cullen/Frost Bankers has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $151.50.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Up 0.2%

CFR opened at $156.51 on Monday. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a 52 week low of $119.00 and a 52 week high of $157.34. The company has a market capitalization of $9.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.26, a PEG ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $143.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The bank reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $574.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 10.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Cullen/Frost Bankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s payout ratio is currently 40.12%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cullen/Frost Bankers

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 248 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 252.1% in 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 during the period. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the first quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

About Cullen/Frost Bankers

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.