Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Receives $57.85 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $57.85.

Several research analysts have issued reports on WBS shares. StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Stephens set a $58.00 price target on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total transaction of $180,422.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,529 shares in the company, valued at $1,017,460.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total value of $180,422.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,017,460.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total value of $209,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $748,333.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,963 shares of company stock valued at $620,272. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Webster Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBS. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 156.5% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 96,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,877,000 after purchasing an additional 58,602 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 1,859.1% during the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 15,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $684,000 after acquiring an additional 14,891 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the first quarter worth $3,529,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 28.9% in the first quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 94,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,806,000 after acquiring an additional 21,245 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 14.8% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,696,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,133,000 after purchasing an additional 218,877 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:WBS opened at $50.72 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Webster Financial has a twelve month low of $37.83 and a twelve month high of $54.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $47.53 and a 200-day moving average of $45.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.26.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $647.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.72 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 11.03%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Webster Financial will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.28%.

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.