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

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

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $121.00 to $117.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Maxim Group raised their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

CFR opened at $134.25 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $136.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.99. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a 12-month low of $94.09 and a 12-month high of $147.64.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The bank reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.07. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 18.81%. The business had revenue of $518.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $517.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s payout ratio is 47.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other news, EVP Howard L. Kasanoff sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.34, for a total transaction of $553,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $399,525.92. This trade represents a 58.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Phillip D. Green sold 14,358 shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.96, for a total transaction of $1,980,829.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 94,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,026,597.08. This represents a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,864 shares of company stock worth $2,977,033. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cullen/Frost Bankers

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,414,061 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $381,897,000 after purchasing an additional 244,445 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 10.2% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,209,122 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $135,252,000 after buying an additional 111,719 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 6.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,097,697 shares of the bank’s stock worth $122,820,000 after acquiring an additional 66,223 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter worth $107,166,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 953,098 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $96,856,000 after acquiring an additional 120,333 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

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.