UBS Group Initiates Coverage on Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS)

Investment analysts at UBS Group began coverage on shares of Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 39.35% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on WBS. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.31.

Webster Financial Stock Down 5.5 %

WBS stock opened at $54.54 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.29. Webster Financial has a 12 month low of $39.33 and a 12 month high of $63.99. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $647.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 prior year, the business posted $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Webster Financial will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Webster Financial news, insider Daniel Bley sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total transaction of $30,955.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,742.89. The trade was a 2.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Javier L. Evans sold 10,137 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total value of $581,965.17. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,300,738.37. This trade represents a 30.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 37,250 shares of company stock worth $2,105,322. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Webster Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WBS. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 4.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,320,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $341,229,000 after acquiring an additional 333,606 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,522,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $240,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,575 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,086,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,524,000 after purchasing an additional 13,487 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,969,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $138,465,000 after purchasing an additional 54,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,640,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,096,000 after buying an additional 301,935 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.