Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $164.00 and last traded at $162.4290, with a volume of 246 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $162.43.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised Cullen/Frost Bankers to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $131.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Stephens raised Cullen/Frost Bankers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $152.42.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Down 0.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $147.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $141.92. The firm has a market cap of $10.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The bank reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $574.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $587.28 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 22.86% and a return on equity of 15.58%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 10.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change from Cullen/Frost Bankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.12%.

Insider Activity at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In related news, EVP Carol Jean Severyn sold 837 shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.29, for a total value of $124,118.73. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,712 shares in the company, valued at $1,885,062.48. The trade was a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 109,154 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,822,000 after purchasing an additional 12,990 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 863.1% in the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,448 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,716,000 after purchasing an additional 19,221 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 268,194 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,961,000 after purchasing an additional 9,612 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 915.0% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 43,036 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,456,000 after buying an additional 38,796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 52.8% during the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 130,944 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,581,000 after buying an additional 45,254 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Company Profile

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc is the holding company for Frost Bank, a Texas-chartered financial institution whose origins date back to 1868 in San Antonio. As one of the oldest banking organizations in the state, it offers a broad range of services to individuals, small and large businesses, and institutional clients. Core banking activities include commercial lending, deposit services, cash management and trade finance, while consumer products cover residential mortgages, personal lines of credit and home equity loans.

Beyond traditional banking, the company provides comprehensive treasury and equipment leasing solutions tailored to support working capital and capital expenditure requirements.