Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Short Interest Up 26.7% in July

Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,650,000 shares, an increase of 26.7% from the July 15th total of 2,880,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,360,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Webster Financial from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Webster Financial from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.36.

Insider Activity

In other Webster Financial news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.04, for a total transaction of $384,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 237,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,387,833.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.04, for a total transaction of $384,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 237,049 shares in the company, valued at $11,387,833.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles L. Wilkins sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.07, for a total value of $245,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 45,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,215,853.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,650 shares of company stock valued at $706,098 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Webster Financial by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Webster Financial by 6.5% during the first quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 4,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 3.6% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 79.1% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Price Performance

NYSE:WBS traded up $1.32 on Thursday, hitting $45.47. The company had a trading volume of 141,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,261,438. Webster Financial has a 52 week low of $36.36 and a 52 week high of $53.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $44.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.97.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $671.91 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 19.81% and a return on equity of 11.81%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 32.79%.

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.