Jefferies Financial Group Begins Coverage on Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR)

Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) in a research report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an underperform rating and a $105.00 price objective on the bank's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Stephens upped their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $132.00 to $120.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Cullen/Frost Bankers from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $132.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $131.93.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Down 0.4%

CFR stock traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $126.60. 275,735 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 465,011. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a one year low of $94.09 and a one year high of $147.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.27, a PEG ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $119.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $131.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68.

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

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This is a boost from Cullen/Frost Bankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. Cullen/Frost Bankers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.91%.

Insider Transactions at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, CAO Matthew Bradley Henson acquired 1,870 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was 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 $93,876.85. This trade represents a 50.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.89% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cullen/Frost Bankers

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 13,083 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,756,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 234.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 436,393 shares of the bank's stock worth $48,814,000 after buying an additional 305,921 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 4th quarter valued at about $389,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $300,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,375,303 shares of the bank's stock worth $855,884,000 after acquiring an additional 66,243 shares during the period. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.