Cullen/Frost Bankers (CFR) Competitors

Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ:CBSH) and Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, media sentiment, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.

Does the media favor CBSH or CFR?

In the previous week, Commerce Bancshares had 3 more articles in the media than Cullen/Frost Bankers. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for Commerce Bancshares and 2 mentions for Cullen/Frost Bankers. Commerce Bancshares' average media sentiment score of 1.54 beat Cullen/Frost Bankers' score of 0.88 indicating that Commerce Bancshares is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Commerce Bancshares	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Cullen/Frost Bankers	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility & risk, CBSH or CFR?

Commerce Bancshares has a beta of 0.61, indicating that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cullen/Frost Bankers has a beta of 0.74, indicating that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer CBSH or CFR?

Commerce Bancshares currently has a consensus price target of $68.20, suggesting a potential upside of 16.28%. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a consensus price target of $134.79, suggesting a potential upside of 7.45%. Given Commerce Bancshares' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Commerce Bancshares is more favorable than Cullen/Frost Bankers.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Commerce Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Cullen/Frost Bankers	3 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.93

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, CBSH or CFR?

Cullen/Frost Bankers has higher revenue and earnings than Commerce Bancshares. Cullen/Frost Bankers is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Commerce Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Commerce Bancshares	$2.09B	3.75	$526.33M	$4.20	13.96
Cullen/Frost Bankers	$2.85B	2.83	$582.54M	$9.29	13.50

Is CBSH or CFR more profitable?

Commerce Bancshares has a net margin of 26.37% compared to Cullen/Frost Bankers' net margin of 21.20%. Commerce Bancshares' return on equity of 16.01% beat Cullen/Frost Bankers' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Commerce Bancshares	26.37%	16.01%	1.74%
Cullen/Frost Bankers	21.20%	15.46%	1.18%

Is CBSH or CFR a better dividend stock?

Commerce Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Cullen/Frost Bankers pays an annual dividend of $4.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Commerce Bancshares pays out 26.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cullen/Frost Bankers pays out 43.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Commerce Bancshares has raised its dividend for 58 consecutive years and Cullen/Frost Bankers has raised its dividend for 32 consecutive years.

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of CBSH or CFR?

70.3% of Commerce Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.9% of Cullen/Frost Bankers shares are held by institutional investors. 3.1% of Commerce Bancshares shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Cullen/Frost Bankers shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Commerce Bancshares beats Cullen/Frost Bankers on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.