Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Lowers Position in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lessened its holdings in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 52.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 18,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,508 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $1,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Compound Planning Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 13.9% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 5,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Webster Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Webster Financial by 4,779.9% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 201,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,011,000 after purchasing an additional 197,696 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Webster Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $47,252,000. Finally, Capula Management Ltd bought a new stake in Webster Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $10,135,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on WBS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $79.00 to $77.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $69.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.04.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of Webster Financial stock opened at $77.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.48 billion, a PE ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Webster Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $52.69 and a 12 month high of $77.69. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $74.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.58.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $769.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $755.80 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 22.78%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Webster Financial Corporation will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.