AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 49,975 Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. $CFR

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 33.1%, acquiring an additional 49,975 shares to own a total of 201,151 shares worth approximately $24.89 million.
• Cullen/Frost Bankers announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00 to be paid on September 15th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.1%.
• The bank reported quarterly earnings of $2.39 per share, exceeding estimates, and had a net margin of 21.20% for the quarter.

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 33.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 201,151 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 49,975 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.31% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $24,890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CFR. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,112,477 shares of the bank's stock valued at $139,282,000 after acquiring an additional 60,187 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 3.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,057,294 shares of the bank's stock valued at $132,365,000 after purchasing an additional 30,709 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,051,168 shares of the bank's stock worth $131,606,000 after purchasing an additional 77,592 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 122,282.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,005,982 shares of the bank's stock worth $125,949,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 19.3% during the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 711,527 shares of the bank's stock worth $89,083,000 after purchasing an additional 114,910 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

CFR stock traded up $1.88 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $127.92. 576,161 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 441,648. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a twelve month low of $100.31 and a twelve month high of $147.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.10.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The bank reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $567.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $552.04 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 21.20% and a return on equity of 15.46%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Cullen/Frost Bankers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CFR shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cullen/Frost Bankers has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $134.00.

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.