Analysts Set Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) Price Target at $127.07

Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $129.00.

A number of brokerages recently commented on CFR. Compass Point lifted their price objective on 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 raised their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $144.00 target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research report on Friday. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Maxim Group lifted their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock opened at $139.39 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $8.94 billion, a PE ratio of 17.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $137.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.76. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a 1 year low of $94.09 and a 1 year high of $147.64. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $2.36 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 15.82%. Equities research analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Howard L. Kasanoff sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.34, for a total value of $553,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. 2.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFR. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter worth about $107,166,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the third quarter worth about $54,012,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 117.4% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 234.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 436,393 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,814,000 after acquiring an additional 305,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 13,334.7% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 281,860 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,840,000 after acquiring an additional 279,762 shares in 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.