Webster Financial Co. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.40 (NYSE:WBS)

Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 29th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.40 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%.

Webster Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 24.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Webster Financial to earn $6.67 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.0%.

Webster Financial Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of WBS traded up $0.59 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $59.95. 804,835 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,102,502. Webster Financial has a twelve month low of $39.33 and a twelve month high of $63.99. The stock has a market cap of $10.28 billion, a PE ratio of 13.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The business had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.53 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Webster Financial will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WBS shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Charles L. Wilkins sold 5,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.50, for a total transaction of $297,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,657 shares in the company, valued at $2,002,591.50. This trade represents a 12.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 500 shares of Webster Financial 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,742.89. This trade represents a 2.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 25,287 shares of company stock valued at $1,485,050. Insiders own 0.88% 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.