Two Sigma Advisers LP Reduces Holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR)

Two Sigma Advisers LP reduced its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 64.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,800 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 8,800 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP’s holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 239.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 339 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 35.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 460 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 4th quarter worth about $106,000. Americana Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 4th quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the fourth quarter worth approximately $204,000. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Up 1.5%

Cullen/Frost Bankers stock opened at $128.06 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.44, a P/E/G ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a one year low of $94.09 and a one year high of $147.64.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The bank reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $560.42 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $540.57 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 15.95%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.15 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. This is an increase from Cullen/Frost Bankers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cullen/Frost Bankers

In other news, CAO Matthew Bradley Henson acquired 1,870 shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $16.93 per share, with a total value of $31,659.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,876.85. This represents a 50.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CFR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $132.00 to $120.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $132.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.93.

Cullen/Frost Bankers 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.