Short Interest in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) Declines By 8.7%

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,520,000 shares, a decrease of 8.7% from the January 15th total of 2,760,000 shares. Approximately 4.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 410,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CFR shares. Compass Point upped their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $122.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a 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 stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group upped their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of 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, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $136.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cullen/Frost Bankers currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.54.

Insider Transactions at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other news, insider Paul Bracher sold 11,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 102,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,355,819.70. This represents a 10.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CFR. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,651 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,370,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,164 shares of the bank’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 45.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 245 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,086 shares of the bank’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keene & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. now owns 5,240 shares of the bank’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE CFR opened at $144.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.28 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a 1 year low of $94.09 and a 1 year high of $147.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $137.97 and its 200-day moving average is $126.87.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last issued its 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 net margin of 18.81% and a return on equity of 16.04%. Equities analysts expect that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.84%.

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.