Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) Short Interest Down 9.3% in November

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,740,000 shares, a decrease of 9.3% from the November 15th total of 3,020,000 shares. Approximately 4.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 463,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.9 days.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CFR traded down $2.89 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $136.68. The stock had a trading volume of 476,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 444,484. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a 52 week low of $94.09 and a 52 week high of $147.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $133.08 and its 200 day moving average is $116.11. The stock has a market cap of $8.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.99.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The bank reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $518.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $517.25 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 18.81% and a return on equity of 15.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.38 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CFR has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens raised their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Compass Point upped their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $122.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $121.00 to $117.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cullen/Frost Bankers currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $127.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Howard L. Kasanoff sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.34, for a total value of $553,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $399,525.92. This trade represents a 58.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Phillip D. Green sold 14,358 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.96, for a total value of $1,980,829.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 94,423 shares in the company, valued at $13,026,597.08. This represents a 13.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,864 shares of company stock valued at $2,977,033 in the last quarter. 2.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cullen/Frost Bankers

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CFR. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 45.0% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 19,273 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,156,000 after acquiring an additional 5,981 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 18,689 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,091,000 after purchasing an additional 4,348 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 11.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 68,296 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,941,000 after buying an additional 7,236 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 10.0% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp bought a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter worth about $784,000. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Company 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.