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

Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.08.

Several research firms have weighed in on WBS. Barclays boosted their price objective on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price 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.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WBS stock opened at $58.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $57.73 and a 200-day moving average of $52.72. Webster Financial has a one year low of $39.33 and a one year high of $63.99. The company has a market cap of $10.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.29.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The firm had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Webster Financial will post 5.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 36.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Daniel Bley sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total transaction of $30,955.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,279 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,742.89. This 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 Charles L. Wilkins sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.50, for a total transaction of $297,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,002,591.50. The trade was a 12.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,150 shares of company stock worth $903,085 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WBS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter worth $120,497,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 759.8% in the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 823,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,462,000 after acquiring an additional 727,530 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 182.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 959,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,496,000 after acquiring an additional 619,934 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $27,163,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the third quarter worth about $22,146,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.