Victory Capital Management Inc. Acquires 6,484 Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. has increased its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. by 55.9% during the first quarter, owning a total of 18,084 shares worth approximately $2.26 million.
• Cullen/Frost Bankers recently reported an EPS of $2.30 for the quarter, exceeding expectations and marking a year-over-year increase from $2.15.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, up from the previous $0.95, providing an annual yield of 2.96%.

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Free Report) by 55.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,084 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 6,484 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $2,264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the first quarter valued at $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 59.6% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 391 shares of the bank's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 35.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the bank's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 33.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 522 shares of the bank's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. grew its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 38.5% in the 1st quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 1,273 shares of the bank's stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Matthew Bradley Henson bought 1,870 shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.93 per share, for a total transaction of $31,659.10. Following the acquisition, the chief accounting officer owned 5,545 shares in the company, valued at $93,876.85. This trade represents a 50.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on CFR shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from an "underperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $132.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $147.00 to $140.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set an "underperform" rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $134.79.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:CFR traded down $0.09 on Tuesday, hitting $135.19. 278,841 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 331,453. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.31 and a 1 year high of $147.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $130.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.87. The company has a market cap of $8.69 billion, a PE ratio of 14.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.68.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The bank reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $560.42 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $540.57 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.70% and a net margin of 20.89%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.15 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. This is a positive change from Cullen/Frost Bankers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Cullen/Frost Bankers's payout ratio is currently 43.91%.

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.