Cullen/Frost Bankers’ (CFR) Sector Perform Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank of Canada

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating reissued by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $144.00 price target on the bank’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 2.14% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Maxim Group increased their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Compass Point increased their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $122.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.00.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

NYSE CFR traded up $0.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $140.99. 149,577 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 456,262. The company has a market cap of $9.04 billion, a PE ratio of 17.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a fifty-two week low of $94.09 and a fifty-two week high of $147.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $137.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.54.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.19. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 18.81% and a return on equity of 15.82%. Research analysts expect that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 8.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other news, CEO Phillip D. Green sold 14,358 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 94,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,026,597.08. This represents a 13.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Howard L. Kasanoff sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.34, for a total value of $553,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $399,525.92. This represents a 58.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter worth approximately $107,166,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter valued at $54,012,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 117.4% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 568,730 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $63,618,000 after purchasing an additional 307,129 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 234.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 436,393 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,814,000 after buying an additional 305,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 13,334.7% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 281,860 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,840,000 after buying an additional 279,762 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

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.