Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $61.58.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WBS shares. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, insider Daniel Bley sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total value of $30,955.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,279 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,742.89. This trade represents a 2.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Javier L. Evans sold 10,137 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total transaction of $581,965.17. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,300,738.37. This trade represents a 30.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,250 shares of company stock worth $2,105,322. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Webster Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. M&G PLC increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 9.4% during the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 207,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,743,000 after purchasing an additional 17,746 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 1,482.9% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 339,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,801,000 after purchasing an additional 317,814 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,582,000. Webster Bank N. A. increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 100.9% during the third quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 56,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,635,000 after purchasing an additional 28,393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,761,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Webster Financial Stock Up 2.8 %

Webster Financial stock opened at $59.57 on Tuesday. Webster Financial has a 1-year low of $39.33 and a 1-year high of $63.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 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 0.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.05.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687,532.71 billion. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 11.03%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Webster Financial will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.28%.

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.