Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. $CFR Shares Sold by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC lowered its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE:CFR) by 29.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 91,900 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 38,300 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers were worth $12,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CFR. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,283 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 18,134 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,296,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,726 shares of the bank’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 248 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Cullen/Frost Bankers by 0.8% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,921 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,771,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Cullen/Frost Bankers

Here are the key news stories impacting Cullen/Frost Bankers this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 earnings beat expectations: Cullen/Frost reported $2.70 in diluted EPS, up from $2.39 a year earlier, exceeding the $2.55 consensus estimate. Revenue of approximately $608.7 million also surpassed the $589.7 million forecast. Cullen/Frost Reports Second Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Healthy operating trends: Taxable-equivalent net interest income rose 4.3% year over year to $470.1 million, average loans increased 7.4% to $22.6 billion, and non-interest income climbed 9.4% to $128.3 million. Improved credit quality and a record loan pipeline also helped reinforce the growth outlook. Cullen-Frost Q2 Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: More bullish analyst views: Stephens raised its price target from $169 to $183 and upgraded its stance to “overweight.” Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted its target to $175 with an “outperform” rating, while RBC raised its target to $176 but maintained a “sector perform” rating. Analyst Price Target Updates
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns remain supportive: The bank declared a quarterly common-stock dividend of $1.03 per share, representing an annualized yield of roughly 2.5%, and repurchased approximately $90 million of its shares during the quarter.
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst consensus: Despite the target increases, brokerages collectively maintain an average “hold” recommendation, suggesting that some investors view the recent gains and valuation as largely reflected in the stock price. Average Hold Recommendation
• Negative Sentiment: Expense growth remains a consideration: Non-interest expense rose 4.2% year over year to $361.7 million, which could limit profit expansion if operating costs accelerate faster than revenue.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Carol Jean Severyn sold 837 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.29, for a total transaction of $124,118.73. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,885,062.48. The trade was a 6.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.14% of the company’s stock.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers stock opened at $166.47 on Friday. Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. has a twelve month low of $119.00 and a twelve month high of $169.09. The stock has a market cap of $10.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 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 has a fifty day moving average price of $151.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.62.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The bank reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $608.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $589.72 million. Cullen/Frost Bankers had a return on equity of 15.64% and a net margin of 29.29%.During the same period last year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. will post 10.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Cullen/Frost Bankers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CFR shares. Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $169.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Cullen/Frost Bankers from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Cullen/Frost Bankers from $131.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.00.

Cullen/Frost Bankers 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.