Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Receives $57.85 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings 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 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $57.85.

Several research analysts recently commented on WBS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Webster Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Webster Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th.

Webster Financial Trading Up 0.0 %

WBS stock opened at $62.05 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $52.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.27. Webster Financial has a fifty-two week low of $39.33 and a fifty-two week high of $63.99. The firm has a market cap of $10.64 billion, a PE ratio of 14.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.27. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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). Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The business had revenue of $647.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Webster Financial will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 36.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Webster Financial news, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,017,460.90. This trade represents a 15.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total transaction of $209,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $748,333.39. This trade represents a 21.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,750 shares of company stock valued at $2,074,367 over the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Webster Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 58.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 31,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after acquiring an additional 11,639 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in Webster Financial by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 19,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $893,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the third quarter valued at $305,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Webster Financial by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,969,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $138,465,000 after purchasing an additional 54,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 6.6% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 6,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.