Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Reduce" from Analysts

Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Reduce" by the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $132.54.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CFR shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $136.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Compass Point upped their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $122.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered Cullen/Frost Bankers from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $138.00 to $143.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE:CFR traded down $2.15 on Friday, hitting $140.22. 459,684 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 454,326. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a 52 week low of $94.09 and a 52 week high of $147.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81, a P/E/G ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 0.99. The company's 50-day moving average price is $138.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.36.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.19. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 15.95%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Cullen/Frost Bankers's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Paul Bracher sold 11,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.45, for a total value of $1,603,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,355,819.70. This trade represents a 10.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.89% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 169.9% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 224 shares of the bank's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 45.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 245 shares of the bank's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 239.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 339 shares of the bank's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Cullen/Frost Bankers

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.