Webster Financial Co. (WBS) To Go Ex-Dividend on May 3rd

Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 24th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.40 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd.

Webster Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 25.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Webster Financial to earn $6.36 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 25.2%.

Webster Financial Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of WBS opened at $45.48 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. Webster Financial has a 52-week low of $31.03 and a 52-week high of $53.39. The company has a market cap of $7.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.32, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.33.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $667.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $680.72 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 21.09% and a return on equity of 12.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 EPS. Analysts predict that Webster Financial will post 5.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Webster Financial news, insider Daniel Bley sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.60, for a total transaction of $95,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,955 shares in the company, valued at $1,330,658. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Christopher J. Motl sold 10,475 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total value of $548,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 63,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,317,234.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.60, for a total value of $95,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,330,658. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,975 shares of company stock worth $1,341,095 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WBS shares. Bank of America started coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Webster Financial from $51.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $64.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.23.

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.