Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) Shares Break Above 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $158.49 and traded as high as $159.56. Cullen/Frost Bankers shares last traded at $158.67, with a volume of 582,729 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Cullen/Frost Bankers from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $160.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.36.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $9.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $158.49 and its 200-day moving average is $148.39.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The bank reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $576.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 10.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cullen/Frost Bankers

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,133,453,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 3.8% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,218,249 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $497,292,000 after acquiring an additional 118,313 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 22.6% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,777,658 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $429,204,000 after purchasing an additional 511,784 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,530,772 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $209,833,000 after buying an additional 236,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 11.8% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,210,722 shares of the bank’s stock worth $165,966,000 after purchasing an additional 127,483 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Company Profile

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc is a financial holding company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Its principal subsidiary, Frost Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and institutions throughout Texas.

Frost Bank offers personal and commercial deposit accounts, loans, mortgages, treasury management, payments and other business banking services. The company also provides wealth management, trust and investment services, brokerage services and insurance solutions through its related businesses.

Frost traces its history to 1868, when Thomas Claiborne Frost founded the bank in San Antonio.