Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) Short Interest Update

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,170,000 shares, a decline of 8.4% from the October 15th total of 3,460,000 shares. Currently, 5.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 463,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on CFR. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $121.00 to $117.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wedbush reduced their price objective on 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. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of 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. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $123.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cullen/Frost Bankers presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Bobby Berman sold 3,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.31, for a total value of $442,842.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,661 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Howard L. Kasanoff sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.34, for a total value of $553,360.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $399,525.92. This trade represents a 58.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cullen/Frost Bankers

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CFR. Keene & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. now owns 5,240 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $586,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 7.0% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the bank’s stock worth $150,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 678 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 6.2% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,333 shares of the bank’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock traded down $0.76 during trading on Monday, hitting $138.52. 460,559 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 457,439. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $120.88 and its 200 day moving average is $110.97. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a 12 month low of $94.09 and a 12 month high of $144.89. The stock has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a PE ratio of 17.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.98. 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) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The bank reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.07. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 18.81%. The firm had revenue of $518.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $517.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 8.71 EPS for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.