Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) Receives “Sector Perform” Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their sector perform rating on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $144.00 price target on the bank’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Compass Point boosted their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $122.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Maxim Group increased their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.00.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Down 0.8 %

CFR opened at $139.39 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a 12 month low of $94.09 and a 12 month high of $147.64. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $137.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.76.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.19. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 18.81%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s payout ratio is presently 47.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, EVP Howard L. Kasanoff sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.34, for a total value of $553,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $399,525.92. This trade represents a 58.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phillip D. Green sold 14,358 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.96, for a total value of $1,980,829.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 94,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,026,597.08. This trade represents a 13.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CFR. Boston Trust Walden Corp bought a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $107,166,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter worth $54,012,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 117.4% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 568,730 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $63,618,000 after acquiring an additional 307,129 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 234.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 436,393 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,814,000 after acquiring an additional 305,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 13,334.7% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 281,860 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,840,000 after acquiring an additional 279,762 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

About Cullen/Frost Bankers

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.