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

Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $57.85.

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

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $748,333.39. This represents a 21.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.14, for a total transaction of $230,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,676,369.20. This trade represents a 12.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,750 shares of company stock worth $2,074,367. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Webster Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WBS. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Webster Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $305,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,969,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $138,465,000 after acquiring an additional 54,613 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Webster Financial by 6.6% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 6,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 297,834 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,883,000 after acquiring an additional 79,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 68,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,195,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Webster Financial Stock Up 2.1 %

Webster Financial stock opened at $61.76 on Monday. 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 current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Webster Financial has a 12 month low of $39.33 and a 12 month high of $61.86. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.04.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). The business 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 last year, the firm posted $1.55 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Webster Financial will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is currently 36.28%.

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.