Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . 5,861,539 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 42% from the previous session’s volume of 4,129,326 shares.The stock last traded at $77.7050 and had previously closed at $77.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WBS. Barclays boosted their price objective on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $79.00 to $77.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Webster Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.25.

Webster Financial Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $76.75 and a 200-day moving average of $73.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $12.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65 and a beta of 1.01.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 22.78%.The company had revenue of $769.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $755.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Webster Financial Corporation will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Webster Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Webster Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $1,182,130,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $142,035,000. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the second quarter valued at about $154,797,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 7,442.8% during the third quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,032,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,838,000 after acquiring an additional 2,005,985 shares during the period. Finally, Whitebox Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the first quarter worth about $133,634,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Webster Financial Company Profile

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.