Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Stock

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) had its price target raised by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $70.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 15.99% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on WBS. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stephens set a $58.00 price target on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.62.

Webster Financial Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of WBS opened at $60.35 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.29. Webster Financial has a 1 year low of $39.33 and a 1 year high of $63.99. 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 (NYSE:WBS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $647.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $677.72 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 11.03%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. Analysts forecast that Webster Financial will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In related news, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of Webster Financial 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at $1,676,369.20. This trade represents a 12.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lauren States sold 1,650 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total transaction of $99,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $910,393.80. This trade represents a 9.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 37,250 shares of company stock worth $2,105,322. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Webster Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 4.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,320,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $341,229,000 after acquiring an additional 333,606 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 28.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,522,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $240,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,206,575 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 0.4% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,086,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,524,000 after acquiring an additional 13,487 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,969,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $138,465,000 after acquiring an additional 54,613 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 12.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,640,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,096,000 after acquiring an additional 301,935 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

About Webster Financial

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.