Granite Investment Partners LLC Invests $1.98 Million in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. $CFR

Granite Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 15,599 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,977,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Cullen/Frost Bankers during the third quarter worth $26,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 8,800.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 267 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 105.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 355 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 40.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 366 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Down 2.4%

NYSE:CFR opened at $141.90 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $136.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.78. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.31 and a 52 week high of $148.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.65.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.09. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 22.21%.The business had revenue of $562.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $578.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.36 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio is 40.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on CFR. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $136.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cullen/Frost Bankers news, EVP Bobby Berman sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.07, for a total value of $137,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 28,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,893,610.42. This trade represents a 3.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Coolidge E. Rhodes, Jr. sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.00, for a total transaction of $88,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $481,965. This trade represents a 15.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,700 shares of company stock worth $225,970. 2.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Cullen/Frost Bankers

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.