Polaris Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. $CFR

Polaris Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 254,100 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 14,300 shares during the period. Cullen/Frost Bankers accounts for approximately 2.2% of Polaris Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Polaris Capital Management LLC owned 0.40% of Cullen/Frost Bankers worth $32,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CFR. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 205.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,844 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,993,000 after buying an additional 9,977 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 33.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 522 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,392,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 59.6% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 391 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,900 shares of the bank’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.31.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Price Performance

Cullen/Frost Bankers stock opened at $126.66 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.15 billion, a PE ratio of 13.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.71. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.31 and a 52-week high of $147.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company’s 50 day moving average is $127.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $125.81.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The bank reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $567.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $552.04 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a net margin of 21.20% and a return on equity of 15.46%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.21 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.06%.

About Cullen/Frost Bankers

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.