Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at UBS Group

UBS Group began coverage on shares of Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $76.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

WBS has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays raised their price target on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Wedbush raised their target price on Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Stephens set a $58.00 price target on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.31.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:WBS opened at $57.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Webster Financial has a 1-year low of $39.33 and a 1-year high of $63.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $56.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.85.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $647.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $677.72 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.80%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Webster Financial will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is currently 36.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total value of $180,422.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,017,460.90. This represents a 15.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lauren States sold 1,650 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total transaction of $99,990.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $910,393.80. This trade represents a 9.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 37,250 shares of company stock worth $2,105,322. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 4.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,320,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $341,229,000 after purchasing an additional 333,606 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,522,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,687,000 after buying an additional 1,206,575 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,086,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,524,000 after buying an additional 13,487 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,969,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $138,465,000 after acquiring an additional 54,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,640,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,096,000 after acquiring an additional 301,935 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.