Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) Stock Rating Upgraded by Evercore ISI

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Evercore ISI from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $132.00 price objective on the bank's stock. Evercore ISI's price target suggests a potential upside of 7.76% from the company's previous close.

CFR has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson lowered Cullen/Frost Bankers from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $138.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $144.00 price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $132.00 to $120.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.14.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

CFR traded down $1.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $122.49. 344,766 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 465,052. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a 1-year low of $94.09 and a 1-year high of $147.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.81, a P/E/G ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The business's 50-day moving average price is $119.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.11.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.13. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 20.44%. The firm 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 company earned $2.15 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other news, CAO Matthew Bradley Henson acquired 1,870 shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.93 per share, for a total transaction of $31,659.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at $93,876.85. This trade represents a 50.88 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cullen/Frost Bankers

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFR. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,651 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,370,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 45.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 245 shares of the bank's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,164 shares of the bank's stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,086 shares of the bank's stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 2,187 shares of the bank's stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 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.