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

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,740,000 shares, a drop of 9.3% from the November 15th total of 3,020,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 463,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.9 days. Approximately 4.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, EVP Bobby Berman sold 3,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.31, for a total transaction of $442,842.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,367,550.91. This represents a 11.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Phillip D. Green sold 14,358 shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.96, for a total value of $1,980,829.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 94,423 shares in the company, valued at $13,026,597.08. This trade represents a 13.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,864 shares of company stock worth $2,977,033. Insiders own 2.89% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cullen/Frost Bankers

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $121.00 to $117.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $118.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Compass Point raised their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $122.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $127.07.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

Shares of CFR traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $137.80. 280,228 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 281,693. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a 52-week low of $94.09 and a 52-week high of $147.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $115.73. The company has a market cap of $8.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $0.95 dividend. 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 presently 47.15%.

About Cullen/Frost Bankers

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.