Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. $CFR Stock Holdings Raised by Carlson Capital L.P.

Carlson Capital L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 120.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,818 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,718 shares during the period. Cullen/Frost Bankers comprises 1.2% of Carlson Capital L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Carlson Capital L.P.’s holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $3,950,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 18.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,530,772 shares of the bank’s stock worth $209,833,000 after purchasing an additional 236,808 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,224,265 shares of the bank’s stock worth $155,059,000 after buying an additional 10,246 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,210,722 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $165,966,000 after buying an additional 127,483 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 965,821 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $122,437,000 after buying an additional 21,793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 789,930 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $108,284,000 after buying an additional 45,921 shares during the period. 86.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CFR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $131.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Cullen/Frost Bankers from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $135.00 to $160.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Stephens raised their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $169.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.00.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock opened at $166.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.00 and a 1 year high of $169.09. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $151.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.62. The stock has a market cap of $10.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.73, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.54.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The bank reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.15. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 29.29% and a return on equity of 15.64%. The business had revenue of $608.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $589.72 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.39 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 10.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Carol Jean Severyn sold 837 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.29, for a total value of $124,118.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,885,062.48. The trade was a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More Cullen/Frost Bankers News

Here are the key news stories impacting Cullen/Frost Bankers this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 earnings beat expectations: Cullen/Frost reported $2.70 in diluted EPS, up from $2.39 a year earlier, exceeding the $2.55 consensus estimate. Revenue of approximately $608.7 million also surpassed the $589.7 million forecast. Cullen/Frost Reports Second Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Healthy operating trends: Taxable-equivalent net interest income rose 4.3% year over year to $470.1 million, average loans increased 7.4% to $22.6 billion, and non-interest income climbed 9.4% to $128.3 million. Improved credit quality and a record loan pipeline also helped reinforce the growth outlook. Cullen-Frost Q2 Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: More bullish analyst views: Stephens raised its price target from $169 to $183 and upgraded its stance to “overweight.” Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted its target to $175 with an “outperform” rating, while RBC raised its target to $176 but maintained a “sector perform” rating. Analyst Price Target Updates
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns remain supportive: The bank declared a quarterly common-stock dividend of $1.03 per share, representing an annualized yield of roughly 2.5%, and repurchased approximately $90 million of its shares during the quarter.
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst consensus: Despite the target increases, brokerages collectively maintain an average “hold” recommendation, suggesting that some investors view the recent gains and valuation as largely reflected in the stock price. Average Hold Recommendation
• Negative Sentiment: Expense growth remains a consideration: Non-interest expense rose 4.2% year over year to $361.7 million, which could limit profit expansion if operating costs accelerate faster than revenue.

About Cullen/Frost Bankers

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.