Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. $CFR Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers (CFR) by 1.3% in Q4, selling 86,050 shares but still owning about 10.02% of the company (≈$811 million).
• Cullen/Frost beat Q1 expectations with EPS $2.65 and $1.04 billion in revenue, and the board raised the quarterly dividend to $1.03 (annualized $4.12, ~2.9% yield).
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $142.82, though several firms have recently raised targets and upgraded ratings.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,404,703 shares of the bank's stock after selling 86,050 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.02% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $811,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 252.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 257 shares of the bank's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CFR. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Loop Capital set a $160.00 price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. TD Cowen raised shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $142.82.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CFR opened at $140.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.69, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.58. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 12 month low of $119.00 and a 12 month high of $148.97. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $138.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $133.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The bank reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $587.29 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 28.49% and a return on equity of 15.69%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. Analysts expect that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 10.26 EPS for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change from Cullen/Frost Bankers's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Cullen/Frost Bankers's payout ratio is 40.32%.

Cullen/Frost Bankers News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Cullen/Frost Bankers this week:

• Positive Sentiment: First‑quarter results beat expectations — EPS of $2.65 topped consensus and revenue showed a large upside, driven by higher net interest income and fee income, supporting the bank’s core earnings strength. Zacks: Q1 Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend hike announced — board raised the quarterly payout to $1.03 (3% increase), implying a ~2.8% yield and reinforcing income appeal for investors. PR Newswire: Q1 Results & Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst target increased — RBC raised its price target to $155 (sector perform), implying roughly ~10% upside from the recent price, which can provide support to the shares. Benzinga: RBC Raises Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate housekeeping — shareholders approved directors’ pay and auditors at the annual meeting; the company also rescheduled the earnings conference call (logistics, not material fundamentals). TipRanks: Shareholder Votes PR Newswire: Call Rescheduled
• Negative Sentiment: Rising operating expenses — analysts and the company call out higher expenses as a drag on profitability despite revenue gains, which may temper enthusiasm and pressure the multiple investors are willing to pay. Zacks: Expenses Weigh on Profitability

Cullen/Frost Bankers 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.