Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08, RTT News reports. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.80%. The firm had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687,532.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share.

Webster Financial Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of Webster Financial stock opened at $59.57 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.01. Webster Financial has a 12-month low of $39.33 and a 12-month high of $63.99. The company has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Webster Financial news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total value of $209,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $748,333.39. This represents a 21.89 % 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, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total value of $180,422.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,017,460.90. The trade was a 15.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 37,250 shares of company stock worth $2,105,322. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on WBS. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wedbush boosted their price target on Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stephens set a $58.00 price target on Webster Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com raised Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.58.

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.