Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) to “Hold”

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) was upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $160.00 target price on the bank’s stock, up from their prior target price of $135.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 3.31% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target 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. Barclays raised their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $151.50.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE:CFR opened at $154.87 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $142.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.73 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.54. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a 12 month low of $119.00 and a 12 month high of $157.34. 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 (NYSE:CFR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The bank reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $574.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. Research analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 10.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other news, EVP Carol Jean Severyn sold 837 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.29, for a total value of $124,118.73. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,885,062.48. This represents a 6.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cullen/Frost Bankers

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CFR. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $92,904,000. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 2,024.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 373,977 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,409,000 after acquiring an additional 356,373 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 16,676.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 353,470 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,760,000 after acquiring an additional 351,363 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,530,772 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $209,833,000 after acquiring an additional 236,808 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,687,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.