Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $155.41 and last traded at $154.9970, with a volume of 849482 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $155.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CFR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 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 report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research report on Monday, June 1st. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $143.00 to $133.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $148.73.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Down 0.4%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $141.73 and a 200-day moving average of $138.47. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $9.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.55.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The bank reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.58% and a net margin of 22.86%.The company had revenue of $574.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $587.28 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 10.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a boost 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, EVP Carol Jean Severyn sold 837 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 12,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,885,062.48. This trade represents a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 109,154 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,822,000 after buying an additional 12,990 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 863.1% during the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,448 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,716,000 after acquiring an additional 19,221 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 268,194 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,961,000 after acquiring an additional 9,612 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 915.0% in the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 43,036 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,456,000 after acquiring an additional 38,796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the fourth quarter worth about $1,142,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.