Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. $CFR Shares Purchased by Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.

Key Points

• Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 56.3% to 322,128 shares (about $40.79M), and overall institutional ownership is high at 86.9% with other large increases from firms like Two Sigma, UBS and Goldman Sachs.
• Cullen/Frost beat expectations for the quarter with EPS of $2.56 vs. $2.47 expected and revenue of $1.05B (vs. $578M est.), reporting a 15.49% return on equity and a 22.21% net margin.
• The bank pays a quarterly dividend of $1.00 (annualized $4.00, yield ~2.8%), while analysts remain mixed—average rating "Hold" with an average target price of $142.25.

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 56.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 322,128 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 116,052 shares during the quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned 0.50% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $40,791,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFR. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 2,024.4% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 373,977 shares of the bank's stock valued at $47,409,000 after purchasing an additional 356,373 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter worth about $29,769,000. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter worth about $29,687,000. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 197.5% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 349,601 shares of the bank's stock worth $44,319,000 after acquiring an additional 232,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 61.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 605,697 shares of the bank's stock worth $75,833,000 after acquiring an additional 230,993 shares during the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

Shares of CFR stock opened at $142.52 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The business has a 50 day moving average of $139.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $132.06. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.38 and a 52 week high of $148.97. The company has a market cap of $8.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.61.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.09. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 22.21%.The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.36 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Cullen/Frost Bankers's payout ratio is currently 40.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CFR shares. Weiss Ratings raised Cullen/Frost Bankers from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $143.00 to $133.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Citigroup lifted their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $136.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cullen/Frost Bankers currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $142.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bobby Berman sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.07, for a total transaction of $137,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 28,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,893,610.42. The trade was a 3.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.14% of the company's stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Company Profile

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc is the holding company for Frost Bank, a Texas-chartered financial institution whose origins date back to 1868 in San Antonio. As one of the oldest banking organizations in the state, it offers a broad range of services to individuals, small and large businesses, and institutional clients. Core banking activities include commercial lending, deposit services, cash management and trade finance, while consumer products cover residential mortgages, personal lines of credit and home equity loans.

Beyond traditional banking, the company provides comprehensive treasury and equipment leasing solutions tailored to support working capital and capital expenditure requirements.

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