Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) Stock

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) had its price target increased by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $140.00 to $148.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price points to a potential upside of 6.70% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CFR. Maxim Group lifted their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $144.00 price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson cut Cullen/Frost Bankers from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $138.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Monday. Stephens lifted their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Compass Point lifted their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $122.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.31.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Up 2.1 %

Cullen/Frost Bankers stock opened at $138.70 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $8.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.99. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a 1-year low of $94.09 and a 1-year high of $147.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $137.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.28. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.19. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 16.04% and a net margin of 18.81%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 8.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Paul Bracher sold 11,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.45, for a total value of $1,603,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 102,946 shares in the company, valued at $14,355,819.70. The trade was a 10.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Howard L. Kasanoff sold 4,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 sold a total of 29,858 shares of company stock valued at $4,137,865 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cullen/Frost Bankers

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp bought a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 3rd quarter valued at about $107,166,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,012,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 117.4% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 568,730 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $63,618,000 after purchasing an additional 307,129 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 234.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 436,393 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,814,000 after purchasing an additional 305,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 13,334.7% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 281,860 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,840,000 after purchasing an additional 279,762 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

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.