Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $149.05 and last traded at $148.7150, with a volume of 71211 shares. The stock had previously closed at $145.66.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CFR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $143.00 to $133.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Stephens upgraded shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Cullen/Frost Bankers from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $148.73.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $9.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $141.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.91.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The bank reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 15.58% and a net margin of 22.86%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 10.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This is an increase from Cullen/Frost Bankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Carol Jean Severyn sold 837 shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,885,062.48. The trade was a 6.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cullen/Frost Bankers

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CFR. Carlson Capital L.P. increased its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 120.0% in the first quarter. Carlson Capital L.P. now owns 28,818 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,950,000 after purchasing an additional 15,718 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the first quarter worth about $25,827,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 11.8% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,210,722 shares of the bank’s stock worth $165,966,000 after buying an additional 127,483 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 17.9% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 704 shares of the bank’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 25.3% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 72,412 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,926,000 after buying an additional 14,607 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

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.