Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on CFR. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $131.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $168.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Cullen/Frost Bankers from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.33.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Down 0.8%

CFR stock opened at $164.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $153.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $144.51. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a 12 month low of $119.00 and a 12 month high of $170.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The bank reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $608.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $589.72 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 23.34% and a return on equity of 15.55%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 10.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Carol Jean Severyn sold 837 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.29, for a total value of $124,118.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,712 shares in the company, valued at $1,885,062.48. This represents a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cullen/Frost Bankers

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CFR. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 248 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 252.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 257 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

About Cullen/Frost Bankers

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc is the holding company for Frost Bank, a Texas-chartered financial institution whose origins date back to 1868 in San Antonio. As one of the oldest banking organizations in the state, it offers a broad range of services to individuals, small and large businesses, and institutional clients. Core banking activities include commercial lending, deposit services, cash management and trade finance, while consumer products cover residential mortgages, personal lines of credit and home equity loans.

Beyond traditional banking, the company provides comprehensive treasury and equipment leasing solutions tailored to support working capital and capital expenditure requirements.