Short Interest in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) Decreases By 8.7%

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,520,000 shares, a drop of 8.7% from the January 15th total of 2,760,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 410,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.1 days. Approximately 4.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, 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 directly owns 94,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,026,597.08. The trade was a 13.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Paul Bracher sold 11,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.45, for a total transaction of $1,603,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 102,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,355,819.70. This represents a 10.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 169.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 224 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 45.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 245 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 239.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 339 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup boosted 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Maxim Group raised their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $144.00 target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.54.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $143.53. 564,412 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 474,446. The company has a fifty day moving average of $137.97 and a 200-day moving average of $126.87. 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 52-week low of $94.09 and a 52-week high of $147.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 0.99.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.19. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 18.81% and a return on equity of 16.04%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s payout ratio is currently 42.84%.

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.