Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $57.85.

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

Webster Financial Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of WBS opened at $52.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.56. Webster Financial has a 1-year low of $37.18 and a 1-year high of $54.38. The stock has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.28.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 EPS 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 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 firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Webster Financial will post 5.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 32.79%.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In related news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on 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 owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $748,333.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Webster Financial news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total value of $209,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $748,333.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total transaction of $180,422.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,529 shares in the company, valued at $1,017,460.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,963 shares of company stock worth $620,272. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Webster Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 340.7% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 7,650.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 117.9% in the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.