Rafferty Asset Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. $CFR

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 29.6% during the first quarter, now holding approximately 64,706 shares valued at $8.1 million.
• Cullen/Frost Bankers reported $2.39 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.11, with revenues of $567.83 million surpassing expectations.
• The bank declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00, reflecting a 3.0% yield, with a payout ratio of 43.06%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 29.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,706 shares of the bank's stock after selling 27,164 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $8,101,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC grew its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 119,032 shares of the bank's stock valued at $14,903,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 1st quarter valued at $636,000. Oak Harvest Investment Services grew its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 41,409 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,941 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC grew its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 367.3% in the 1st quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 30,467 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,814,000 after purchasing an additional 23,947 shares during the period. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 1st quarter valued at $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on CFR. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $133.71.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE CFR opened at $129.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.74. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a one year low of $100.31 and a one year high of $147.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The business's fifty day moving average is $130.96 and its 200-day moving average is $126.60.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The bank reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $567.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $552.04 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.46% and a net margin of 21.20%.During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.21 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Cullen/Frost Bankers's payout ratio is presently 43.06%.

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.