Sunbelt Securities Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 41.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,626 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 477 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $182,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 169.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 224 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 63.3% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 271 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 116.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 444 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter worth $52,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

NYSE:CFR opened at $137.80 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $132.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $8.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.99. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.09 and a 1-year high of $147.64.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 18.81%. The firm had revenue of $518.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $517.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Maxim Group boosted their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $121.00 to $117.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Compass Point increased their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $122.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $127.07.

Insider Activity at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other news, CEO Phillip D. Green sold 14,358 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.96, for a total value 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 approximately $13,026,597.08. The trade was a 13.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Bobby Berman sold 3,506 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.31, for a total transaction of $442,842.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,661 shares in the company, valued at $3,367,550.91. The trade was a 11.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,864 shares of company stock valued at $2,977,033 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.89% 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.