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

Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 17th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, July 29th will be given a dividend of 0.40 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 29th.

Webster Financial has a payout ratio of 25.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Webster Financial to earn $6.25 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 25.6%.

Webster Financial Price Performance

NYSE WBS traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $48.43. The company had a trading volume of 1,791,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,208,829. The company has a market capitalization of $8.31 billion, a PE ratio of 9.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.59. Webster Financial has a twelve month low of $36.36 and a twelve month high of $53.39.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.02). Webster Financial had a net margin of 21.09% and a return on equity of 12.55%. The company had revenue of $667.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $680.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.49 earnings per share. Webster Financial’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Webster Financial will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Webster Financial from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Webster Financial news, insider Daniel Bley sold 2,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.80, for a total transaction of $102,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,285,446.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Daniel Bley sold 2,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.80, for a total value of $102,144.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,285,446.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.04, for a total value of $384,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 237,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,387,833.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.88% 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.