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

Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.08.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th.

Webster Financial Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of WBS stock opened at $48.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $56.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.09. The company has a market cap of $8.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. Webster Financial has a 1-year low of $39.34 and a 1-year high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Webster Financial will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In related news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,988.56. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 32,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,776,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 19,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 5,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 49,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,760,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. 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.