Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $127.07.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CFR shares. Compass Point lifted their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $122.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $118.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Maxim Group boosted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Bobby Berman sold 3,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.31, for a total transaction of $442,842.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,367,550.91. This represents a 11.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Howard L. Kasanoff sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.34, for a total value of $553,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $399,525.92. The trade was a 58.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,864 shares of company stock valued at $2,977,033 in the last 90 days. 2.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cullen/Frost Bankers

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 169.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 224 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 45.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 245 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Asset Dedication LLC grew its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 63.3% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 271 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 239.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 339 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

Cullen/Frost Bankers stock opened at $138.96 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $137.79 and its 200 day moving average is $123.80. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a one year low of $94.09 and a one year high of $147.64. The firm has a market cap of $8.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The bank reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.07. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 18.81% and a return on equity of 15.82%. The company had revenue of $518.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $517.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.38 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 8.76 EPS for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.15%.

About Cullen/Frost Bankers

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.