Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Stock Price

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) had its target price dropped by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $75.00 to $66.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target suggests a potential upside of 30.96% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group started coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Webster Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.08.

Webster Financial Stock Up 3.9 %

Webster Financial stock opened at $50.40 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. Webster Financial has a 52 week low of $39.34 and a 52 week high of $63.99. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $56.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Webster Financial will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Webster Financial news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Webster Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 5.0% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 36,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,696,000 after buying an additional 1,736 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 9.3% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 3.8% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 21,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $984,000 after buying an additional 772 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 17.0% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 5.2% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 50,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,368,000 after buying an additional 2,520 shares in the last quarter. 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.