Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Price Target Cut to $66.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) had its price target cut by Morgan Stanley from $75.00 to $66.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 35.48% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays upped their price target on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.08.

Webster Financial Trading Down 2.0 %

WBS traded down $0.98 during trading on Thursday, reaching $48.72. The company had a trading volume of 595,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,067,315. Webster Financial has a 12-month low of $39.33 and a 12-month high of $63.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $8.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. The firm had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Webster Financial news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction of $780,728.19. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,110,988.56. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Webster Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WBS. FMR LLC raised its position in Webster Financial by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,493,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $469,007,000 after purchasing an additional 99,908 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $341,229,000 after purchasing an additional 333,606 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,620,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $365,601,000 after acquiring an additional 45,310 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,130,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $228,000,000 after acquiring an additional 35,039 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in Webster Financial by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,154,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,173,000 after purchasing an additional 116,508 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.