Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wells Fargo & Company

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) was downgraded by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on WBS. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group downgraded Webster Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $77.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada cut Webster Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday. Santander downgraded Webster Financial to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Webster Financial from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.36.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

WBS opened at $73.28 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.76. Webster Financial has a 52-week low of $39.43 and a 52-week high of $73.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.40, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.07.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $760.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.95 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 11.10%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Webster Financial will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.45, for a total value of $443,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 231,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,857,302.40. The trade was a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Webster Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WBS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 2.5% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,812,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $464,402,000 after acquiring an additional 189,399 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Webster Financial by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,359,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $318,567,000 after purchasing an additional 63,403 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position in Webster Financial by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,160,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,340,000 after purchasing an additional 89,723 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Webster Financial by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,453,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $188,576,000 after purchasing an additional 438,131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 0.6% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,163,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $188,016,000 after buying an additional 18,860 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Webster Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Santander agreed to acquire Webster in a transaction that market reports say will increase Santander’s U.S. scale and profitability — this takeover announcement is the primary bullish catalyst for WBS today. Santander to Buy Webster Bank
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley trimmed its price target from $77 to $75 and moved to an “equal weight” stance — a modest target cut that still implies small upside vs. current levels, so it’s a minor, mixed signal. Benzinga

About Webster Financial

Webster Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Waterbury, Connecticut. Through its principal subsidiary, Webster Bank, N.A., the company offers a broad range of banking products and financial services to individuals, small businesses, and middle-market commercial clients. Key offerings include deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, treasury management, and payment processing solutions.

In addition to traditional banking services, Webster Financial provides wealth management and insurance products designed to help clients plan for retirement, preserve assets, and manage risk.