Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) Short Interest Down 9.3% in November

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) saw a large decrease in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,740,000 shares, a decrease of 9.3% from the November 15th total of 3,020,000 shares. Approximately 4.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 463,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.9 days.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFR traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $137.80. The stock had a trading volume of 280,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 281,693. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $132.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.99. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a 1-year low of $94.09 and a 1-year high of $147.64.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The bank reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.07. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 18.81%. The firm had revenue of $518.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $517.25 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In related news, EVP Bobby Berman sold 3,506 shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.31, for a total value of $442,842.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,367,550.91. The trade was a 11.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Phillip D. Green sold 14,358 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.96, for a total transaction of $1,980,829.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 94,423 shares in the company, valued at $13,026,597.08. This trade represents a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,864 shares of company stock valued at $2,977,033 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cullen/Frost Bankers

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 19,273 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,156,000 after buying an additional 5,981 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 11.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 68,296 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,941,000 after acquiring an additional 7,236 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 10.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 119,447 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,361,000 after acquiring an additional 10,884 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp acquired a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 3rd quarter valued at about $784,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 7,109.7% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 250,896 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 247,416 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on CFR. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $118.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush reduced their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Stephens lifted 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $121.00 to $117.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $126.00 to $123.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cullen/Frost Bankers presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $127.07.

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.