First Trust Advisors LP Trims Stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. $CFR

First Trust Advisors LP cut its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 2.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 653,007 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 14,014 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 1.02% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $83,938,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFR. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,734,222 shares of the bank’s stock worth $222,917,000 after purchasing an additional 16,771 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,154,566 shares of the bank’s stock worth $149,558,000 after buying an additional 9,332 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 3.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,057,294 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $132,365,000 after buying an additional 30,709 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,051,168 shares of the bank’s stock worth $131,606,000 after acquiring an additional 77,592 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 58.7% during the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 822,878 shares of the bank’s stock worth $104,861,000 after acquiring an additional 304,491 shares during the period. 86.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

NYSE:CFR opened at $126.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.31 and a 52 week high of $146.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $124.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $127.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.08 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.64.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The bank reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $567.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $565.54 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.84% and a net margin of 21.99%.During the same period last year, the company earned $2.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 28th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s payout ratio is currently 41.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CFR shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Monday, December 1st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Citigroup increased their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $112.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $140.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $136.75.

Cullen/Frost Bankers 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.