Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Position in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. $CFR

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 147.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,710 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,897 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $5,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CFR. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 252.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 257 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 320 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 40.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 366 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Performance

Shares of CFR opened at $161.48 on Friday. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.00 and a 12-month high of $163.80. The firm has a market cap of $10.14 billion, a PE ratio of 15.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $146.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.34.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The bank reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.16. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 22.86% and a return on equity of 15.58%. The business had revenue of $574.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $587.28 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 10.57 EPS for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Cullen/Frost Bankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CFR shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cullen/Frost Bankers currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $152.42.

Insider Activity at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In related news, EVP Carol Jean Severyn sold 837 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Company Profile

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.