StockNews.com Upgrades Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) to Sell

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Compass Point cut shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cullen/Frost Bankers presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.46.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

Shares of CFR opened at $105.93 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $108.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. Cullen/Frost Bankers has a twelve month low of $82.25 and a twelve month high of $120.31. The firm has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.52, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.04.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The bank reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.02. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 20.57% and a return on equity of 18.31%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.70 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Cullen/Frost Bankers will post 8.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Paul Bracher sold 9,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.40, for a total value of $1,074,308.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,543,972. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, EVP Bobby Berman sold 1,312 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.49, for a total value of $138,402.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,815 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,934,204.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paul Bracher sold 9,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.40, for a total value of $1,074,308.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 96,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,543,972. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cullen/Frost Bankers

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFR. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 1st quarter worth $254,000. Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 90.7% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 391 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 68.8% during the first quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,993 shares of the bank’s stock worth $449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,628 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 35.2% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,573 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 4,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. bought a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 1st quarter valued at about $69,000. 86.90% of the stock is 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.