Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (CFR) Downgraded by Zacks Investment Research to Hold

Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

According to Zacks, “Cullen/Frost's shares have outperformed the industry in the last six months. The company’s second-quarter 2017 results were in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The quarter witnessed higher revenues along with a strong balance sheet position. The positives were offset by increase in expenses. With a rising interest rate environment and improving non-interest bearing deposits, the company's net interest income and net interest margin is expected to grow. Further, Cullen/Frost’s strong capital position keeps it well poised to continue capital deployment activities, thereby boosting shareholders’ confidence. However, rising costs stemming mainly from expanding franchise are likely to deter bottom-line growth to some extent. Also, the company’s risky loan portfolio keeps us apprehensive.”

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Maxim Group restated a buy rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley restated an equal weight rating and issued a $93.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Thursday, July 6th. Piper Jaffray Companies restated a hold rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Friday. Stephens set a $97.00 target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Group LLC restated a hold rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Friday, July 14th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $96.17.

Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) traded down 0.23% during trading on Friday, hitting $91.55. 577,177 shares of the stock traded hands. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a 52-week low of $65.07 and a 52-week high of $99.20. The firm has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a PE ratio of 18.02 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s 50 day moving average is $95.18 and its 200 day moving average is $91.82.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The bank reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 35.04% and a return on equity of 11.36%. The business had revenue of $295.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post $5.31 EPS for the current year.

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The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 29th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s payout ratio is currently 44.79%.

In other news, Director Graham M. Weston bought 22,081 shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $90.56 per share, with a total value of $1,999,655.36. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 5.15% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invictus RG bought a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the first quarter valued at about $109,000. Mosaic Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 2.8% in the first quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth LLC now owns 1,638 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $146,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Americafirst Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the first quarter valued at about $156,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 6.4% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,791 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Financial Mangement LLC bought a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the second quarter valued at about $202,000. 80.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Company Profile

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc is a financial holding company and a bank holding company. The Company, through its subsidiaries, provides a range of products and services throughout Texas markets. The Company’s segments include Banking, Frost Wealth Advisors and Non-Banks. The Banking segment includes both commercial and consumer banking services, and Frost Insurance Agency.