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

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $119.93.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wedbush boosted their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $127.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $112.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $117.00 to $108.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Howard L. Kasanoff sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.20, for a total value of $357,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,598 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $190,481.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, EVP Howard L. Kasanoff sold 3,000 shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.20, for a total transaction of $357,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,598 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $190,481.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Candace K. Wolfshohl sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.65, for a total transaction of $598,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 18,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,243,796.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 46.5% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 334 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 90.7% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 391 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 461 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFR traded down $0.53 on Monday, hitting $105.66. 324,774 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 454,936. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a one year low of $82.25 and a one year high of $123.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $104.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.64.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.14. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 19.51%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. Research analysts expect that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. This is an increase from Cullen/Frost Bankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.50%.

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.