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

Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $55.36.

WBS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Webster Financial from $54.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley cut Webster Financial from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th.

Webster Financial Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $44.69 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Webster Financial has a 52-week low of $36.36 and a 52-week high of $53.39. The stock has a market cap of $7.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.16, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $45.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.66.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $671.91 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.81% and a net margin of 19.81%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Webster Financial will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Webster Financial news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.04, for a total value of $384,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 237,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,387,833.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Webster Financial news, insider Jason A. Soto sold 1,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.32, for a total value of $76,428.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $951,366.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.04, for a total value of $384,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 237,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,387,833.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,650 shares of company stock valued at $706,098 in the last 90 days. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Webster Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WBS. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Webster Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $813,000. Maven Securities LTD acquired a new position in Webster Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $388,000. Creative Planning grew its position in Webster Financial by 6.1% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 37,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,618,000 after acquiring an additional 2,149 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC raised its position in Webster Financial by 103.4% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 62,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,713,000 after purchasing an additional 31,630 shares during the period. Finally, Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $419,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently 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.