First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 45,921 Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. $CFR

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 6.2% in the first quarter, buying 45,921 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 789,930 shares valued at about $108.3 million.
• Cullen/Frost Bankers posted stronger-than-expected earnings, reporting $2.65 EPS versus the $2.49 consensus estimate, though revenue came in slightly below expectations.
• The bank raised its quarterly dividend to $1.03 per share from $1.00, putting the annualized dividend at $4.12 and the yield at 2.5%.

First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 789,930 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 45,921 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 1.26% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $108,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 61.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 605,697 shares of the bank's stock valued at $75,833,000 after acquiring an additional 230,993 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 9.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 166,900 shares of the bank's stock valued at $20,896,000 after purchasing an additional 15,063 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 40.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 366 shares of the bank's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 12.2% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 126,040 shares of the bank's stock worth $16,201,000 after purchasing an additional 13,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 82.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the bank's stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CFR opened at $164.23 on Friday. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 12 month low of $119.00 and a 12 month high of $165.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $148.81 and a 200-day moving average of $142.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.54.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The bank reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $574.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $587.28 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.58% and a net margin of 22.86%.During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 10.57 EPS for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Cullen/Frost Bankers's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Cullen/Frost Bankers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.12%.

Insider Transactions at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other news, EVP Carol Jean Severyn sold 837 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.29, for a total transaction of $124,118.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,712 shares in the company, valued at $1,885,062.48. The trade was a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CFR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen raised shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $131.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $152.42.

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.

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