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

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in 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. Approximately 4.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 410,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.1 days.

Insider Transactions at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In related news, insider Paul Bracher sold 11,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 102,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,355,819.70. The trade was a 10.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cullen/Frost Bankers

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 767.4% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,383 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 2,993 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 119,447 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,361,000 after buying an additional 10,884 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. increased its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 29,055.1% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 59,768 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,685,000 after buying an additional 59,563 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 71,247.7% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 31,393 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,512,000 after buying an additional 31,349 shares during the period. Finally, Riverwater Partners LLC increased its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 7,949 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $862,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

NYSE:CFR opened at $144.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31, a PEG ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 0.99. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a one year low of $94.09 and a one year high of $147.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $137.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.87. 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 (NYSE:CFR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $2.36 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 16.04%. Analysts anticipate that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s payout ratio is currently 42.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on CFR shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $144.00 price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Compass Point boosted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $122.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Maxim Group boosted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $136.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cullen/Frost Bankers currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.54.

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.