Brokerages Set Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) Target Price at $131.93

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $131.93.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $132.00 to $120.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set an "underperform" rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson downgraded Cullen/Frost Bankers from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $138.00 to $143.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

Shares of CFR stock traded down $2.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $127.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 387,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 466,499. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm's 50-day moving average is $120.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.65. The company has a market cap of $8.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.32, a PEG ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.67. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a 1-year low of $94.09 and a 1-year high of $147.64.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The bank reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.13. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 15.95%. The business had revenue of $560.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $540.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.15 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This is a boost from Cullen/Frost Bankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Cullen/Frost Bankers's payout ratio is currently 43.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In related news, CAO Matthew Bradley Henson acquired 1,870 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.93 per share, for a total transaction of $31,659.10. Following the purchase, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,876.85. The trade was a 50.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cullen/Frost Bankers

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 13,083 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,756,000 after buying an additional 1,003 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the fourth quarter worth $389,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,375,303 shares of the bank's stock valued at $855,884,000 after purchasing an additional 66,243 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,339 shares of the bank's stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,090 shares of the bank's stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company's stock.

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.