Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $132.77.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. 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 report on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $132.00 to $120.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $136.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $144.00 target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:CFR opened at $122.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $7.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82, a P/E/G ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $135.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.43. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a 52-week low of $94.09 and a 52-week high of $147.64.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 15.95% and a net margin of 20.44%. On average, analysts anticipate that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s payout ratio is currently 42.84%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Paul Bracher sold 11,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.45, for a total value of $1,603,675.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,946 shares in the company, valued at $14,355,819.70. The trade was a 10.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cullen/Frost Bankers

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 45.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 245 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 239.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 339 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 134.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 541 shares of the bank’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.