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

Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $63.36.

WBS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Webster Financial by 46.1% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 3,036 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 8.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 89,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,158,000 after purchasing an additional 6,964 shares during the last quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC boosted its position in Webster Financial by 180.4% during the third quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC now owns 9,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 20,263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 28,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,318,000 after buying an additional 1,223 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Trading Down 1.9 %

WBS opened at $51.04 on Friday. Webster Financial has a 52 week low of $39.34 and a 52 week high of $63.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.51. The firm has a market cap of $8.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 business posted $1.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Webster Financial will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.61%.

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.