Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) Raised to Outperform at Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $150.00 price objective on the bank's stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $147.00 to $140.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Stephens lifted their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on 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. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Cullen/Frost Bankers from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $132.00 price target for the company in a research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $134.79.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

Shares of CFR stock traded down $0.99 on Tuesday, hitting $136.55. The company had a trading volume of 396,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 454,655. The firm has a market cap of $8.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $128.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a twelve month low of $100.31 and a twelve month high of $147.64.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The bank reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.13. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.70% and a net margin of 20.89%. The firm had revenue of $560.42 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $540.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.15 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This is a positive change from Cullen/Frost Bankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Cullen/Frost Bankers's dividend payout ratio is 43.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Matthew Bradley Henson purchased 1,870 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.93 per share, for a total transaction of $31,659.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $93,876.85. This trade represents a 50.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cullen/Frost Bankers

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 40.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 366 shares of the bank's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 59.6% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 391 shares of the bank's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the first quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.