Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) Stock

Key Points

• Barclays raised its price target for Cullen/Frost Bankers from $160 to $175 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying 13.66% upside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $170.18, with five Buy, seven Hold, and one Sell rating.
• Cullen/Frost reported quarterly EPS of $2.70, beating the $2.55 consensus estimate, while shares recently traded at $153.97 and institutional investors own 86.9% of the stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by equities research analysts at Barclays from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the bank's stock. Barclays's target price suggests a potential upside of 13.66% from the stock's previous close.

CFR has been the subject of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $168.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $185.00 to $178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Stephens lifted their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $169.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cullen/Frost Bankers has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $170.18.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CFR traded down $1.07 during trading on Monday, hitting $153.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 58,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 557,483. The company has a 50-day moving average of $162.49 and a 200-day moving average of $150.70. The firm has a market cap of $9.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.56. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a 12 month low of $119.00 and a 12 month high of $170.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The bank reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.15. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 23.34% and a return on equity of 15.55%. The firm had revenue of $576.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $589.72 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 10.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Cullen/Frost Bankers

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 52.8% during the 4th 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 period. EFG International AG purchased a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,906,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 22.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,777,658 shares of the bank's stock worth $429,204,000 after purchasing an additional 511,784 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 10.6% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 73,835 shares of the bank's stock worth $10,332,000 after buying an additional 7,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 327.0% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 34,023 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,257,000 after acquiring an additional 26,055 shares during the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Cullen/Frost Bankers

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc is a financial holding company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, and the parent company of Frost Bank. Through Frost, the company provides banking, investment, and financial services to individuals, businesses, and institutions.

Frost Bank offers personal and business deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, treasury management, payment services, and other banking products. Its wealth management operations provide trust, investment management, and financial planning services, while the company also offers services related to insurance and investment banking.

Founded in 1868 by Thomas Claiborne Frost, the company has a long history of serving Texas markets.

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