Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Monday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on WBS. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Webster Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Stephens set a $58.00 target price on Webster Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. 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 upped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.85.

Webster Financial Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Webster Financial stock opened at $60.56 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.91. The firm has a market cap of $10.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.27. Webster Financial has a fifty-two week low of $39.33 and a fifty-two week high of $61.12. 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 (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The business had revenue of $647.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Webster Financial will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 2.64%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 36.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.14, for a total value of $230,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,676,369.20. The trade was a 12.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lauren States sold 1,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total transaction of $99,990.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $910,393.80. This trade represents a 9.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,750 shares of company stock worth $2,074,367 over the last 90 days. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Webster Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 3.6% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 23,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after purchasing an additional 3,801 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Webster Financial by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,926,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $910,117,000 after purchasing an additional 54,841 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its position in Webster Financial by 83.6% in the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 12,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 5,480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 25.6% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 5,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

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.