Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) Sets New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday after Jefferies Financial Group upgraded the stock from an underperform rating to a hold rating. Jefferies Financial Group now has a $160.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $135.00. Cullen/Frost Bankers traded as high as $157.34 and last traded at $155.2750, with a volume of 423652 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.86.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on CFR. Citigroup upped their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $131.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Monday, June 1st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $151.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, EVP Carol Jean Severyn sold 837 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.29, for a total transaction of $124,118.73. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,885,062.48. This trade represents a 6.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cullen/Frost Bankers

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CFR. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 248 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 252.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 257 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the first quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $142.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.54.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The bank reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $574.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $587.28 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.58% and a net margin of 22.86%.During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 10.54 EPS for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is an increase from Cullen/Frost Bankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.12%.

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.