Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $57.85.

WBS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stephens set a $58.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:WBS opened at $61.76 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $51.40 and its 200 day moving average is $47.04. The firm has a market cap of $10.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.00, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. Webster Financial has a 52-week low of $39.33 and a 52-week high of $61.86.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $647.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $677.72 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Webster Financial will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.28%.

Insider Activity

In other Webster Financial news, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.14, for a total value of $230,130.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 32,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,676,369.20. This trade represents a 12.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total transaction of $209,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $748,333.39. This trade represents a 21.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 36,750 shares of company stock valued at $2,074,367. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WBS. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Webster Financial by 25.6% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 5,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 109,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,572,000 after buying an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,237,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $316,678,000 after acquiring an additional 95,780 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Webster Financial by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 10,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Webster Financial during the first quarter worth about $1,169,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Company Profile

Webster Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Webster Bank, National Association that provides a range of financial products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, HSA Bank, and Consumer Banking.