Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) saw a significant decline in short interest in 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 stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 463,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on CFR shares. Maxim Group lifted their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial cut 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. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $127.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Compass Point boosted their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $111.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $118.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.86.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Up 0.0 %

CFR stock traded up $0.06 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $138.54. The company had a trading volume of 28,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 455,523. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a 52 week low of $94.09 and a 52 week high of $144.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $120.88 and a 200 day moving average of $110.97. The company has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.19, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.98.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The bank reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $517.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th 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 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.15%.

Insider Transactions at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other news, EVP Bobby Berman sold 3,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.31, for a total value of $442,842.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,367,550.91. This represents a 11.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Howard L. Kasanoff sold 4,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $399,525.92. The trade was a 58.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cullen/Frost Bankers

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CFR. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 169.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 224 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 63.3% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 271 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 116.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 444 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.