Squarepoint Ops LLC Invests $2.51 Million in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. $CFR

Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 19,525 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $2,510,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CFR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the second quarter worth about $90,484,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 58.7% in the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 822,878 shares of the bank’s stock worth $104,861,000 after purchasing an additional 304,491 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 61.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 605,697 shares of the bank’s stock worth $75,833,000 after buying an additional 230,993 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $12,885,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 3,892.4% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 100,368 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,901,000 after buying an additional 97,854 shares during the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CFR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $140.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $136.00.

Insider Transactions at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, EVP Coolidge E. Rhodes, Jr. sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.00, for a total transaction of $88,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $481,965. This represents a 15.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.89% of the company’s stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

CFR stock opened at $128.27 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.31 and a 1 year high of $146.44. The company has a market cap of $8.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $124.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $127.52.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The bank reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $567.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $565.54 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.84% and a net margin of 21.99%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.24 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.15%.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Company Profile

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.