Royal Bank of Canada Purchases 5,517 Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. $CFR

Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 412,617 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 5,517 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $56,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CFR. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 109,154 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,822,000 after acquiring an additional 12,990 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 863.1% during the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,448 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,716,000 after acquiring an additional 19,221 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 268,194 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,961,000 after purchasing an additional 9,612 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 915.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 43,036 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,456,000 after buying an additional 38,796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 52.8% in the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 130,944 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,581,000 after purchasing an additional 45,254 shares during the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $148.29, for a total transaction of $124,118.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,885,062.48. This represents a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE CFR opened at $166.47 on Friday. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.00 and a 52-week high of $169.09. 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 50 day moving average price of $151.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.73, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.54.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The bank reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $608.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $589.72 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 29.29% and a return on equity of 15.64%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CFR. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $168.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $131.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.00.

Key Cullen/Frost Bankers News

Here are the key news stories impacting Cullen/Frost Bankers this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 earnings beat expectations: Cullen/Frost reported $2.70 in diluted EPS, up from $2.39 a year earlier, exceeding the $2.55 consensus estimate. Revenue of approximately $608.7 million also surpassed the $589.7 million forecast. Cullen/Frost Reports Second Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Healthy operating trends: Taxable-equivalent net interest income rose 4.3% year over year to $470.1 million, average loans increased 7.4% to $22.6 billion, and non-interest income climbed 9.4% to $128.3 million. Improved credit quality and a record loan pipeline also helped reinforce the growth outlook. Cullen-Frost Q2 Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: More bullish analyst views: Stephens raised its price target from $169 to $183 and upgraded its stance to “overweight.” Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted its target to $175 with an “outperform” rating, while RBC raised its target to $176 but maintained a “sector perform” rating. Analyst Price Target Updates
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns remain supportive: The bank declared a quarterly common-stock dividend of $1.03 per share, representing an annualized yield of roughly 2.5%, and repurchased approximately $90 million of its shares during the quarter.
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst consensus: Despite the target increases, brokerages collectively maintain an average “hold” recommendation, suggesting that some investors view the recent gains and valuation as largely reflected in the stock price. Average Hold Recommendation
• Negative Sentiment: Expense growth remains a consideration: Non-interest expense rose 4.2% year over year to $361.7 million, which could limit profit expansion if operating costs accelerate faster than revenue.

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.