Lazard Asset Management LLC Purchases 10,811 Shares of Cadence Bank (NYSE:CADE)

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Cadence Bank (NYSE:CADE - Free Report) by 34.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,439 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,811 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Cadence Bank were worth $1,461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CADE. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in Cadence Bank in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,061,000. Algert Global LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cadence Bank by 339.6% in the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 83,163 shares of the company's stock worth $2,865,000 after purchasing an additional 64,243 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Cadence Bank by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,684,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,475,000 after purchasing an additional 350,660 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Cadence Bank by 262.6% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 22,845 shares of the company's stock worth $787,000 after buying an additional 16,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Cadence Bank by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 163,697 shares of the company's stock worth $5,639,000 after buying an additional 24,704 shares in the last quarter. 84.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Cadence Bank from $42.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Cadence Bank from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays reduced their target price on Cadence Bank from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Cadence Bank from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Cadence Bank from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.82.

Cadence Bank Trading Down 1.5%

CADE stock traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $30.20. The company had a trading volume of 1,810,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,303,067. The company has a 50 day moving average of $29.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.11. The company has a market capitalization of $5.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.90 and a beta of 0.84. Cadence Bank has a 1 year low of $25.22 and a 1 year high of $40.20.

Cadence Bank (NYSE:CADE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $448.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $451.61 million. Cadence Bank had a return on equity of 9.87% and a net margin of 18.03%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cadence Bank will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Cadence Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Cadence Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.60%.

Cadence Bank announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, April 25th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Cadence Bank

Cadence Bank provides commercial banking and financial services. Its products and services include consumer banking, consumer loans, mortgages, home equity lines and loans, credit cards, commercial and business banking, treasury management, specialized and asset-based lending, commercial real estate, equipment financing, and correspondent banking services.