Short Interest in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) Drops By 9.3%

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,740,000 shares, a decline of 9.3% from the November 15th total of 3,020,000 shares. Currently, 4.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 463,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $118.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $126.00 to $123.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $124.00 to $123.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Maxim Group increased their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $127.07.

Insider Transactions at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In related news, EVP Bobby Berman sold 3,506 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.31, for a total value of $442,842.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,367,550.91. This trade represents a 11.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phillip D. Green sold 14,358 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.96, for a total transaction of $1,980,829.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 94,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,026,597.08. This represents a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,864 shares of company stock worth $2,977,033 over the last three months. 2.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFR. Covestor Ltd boosted its position 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 buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 63.3% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 271 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 116.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 444 shares of the bank's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE CFR traded up $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $137.80. The stock had a trading volume of 280,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 281,693. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $115.84. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a one year low of $94.09 and a one year high of $147.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The bank reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $518.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $517.25 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 18.81%. Cullen/Frost Bankers's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Cullen/Frost Bankers's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.15%.

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.