UBS Group AG Trims Stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. $CFR

Key Points

• UBS Group AG cut its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 28% in the fourth quarter, selling 97,965 shares and leaving it with 251,636 shares valued at about $31.9 million.
• Cullen/Frost Bankers beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.65 EPS versus the $2.49 consensus, while revenue came in at $1.04 billion, well above estimates.
• The bank raised its quarterly dividend to $1.03 per share from $1.00, implying a 3.0% annualized yield and a payout ratio of 38.95%.

UBS Group AG reduced its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 28.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 251,636 shares of the bank's stock after selling 97,965 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.39% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $31,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CFR. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 252.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 257 shares of the bank's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co grew its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 40.4% during the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 320 shares of the bank's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

NYSE CFR opened at $138.80 on Friday. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.00 and a 52-week high of $148.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $8.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a fifty day moving average of $138.77 and a 200-day moving average of $134.02.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The bank reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.16. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 22.86% and a return on equity of 15.58%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $587.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 10.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This is a boost from Cullen/Frost Bankers's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Cullen/Frost Bankers's payout ratio is presently 38.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on CFR. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $145.08.

About Cullen/Frost Bankers

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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