Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Receives $57.85 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $57.85.

WBS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Webster Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lauren States sold 1,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total value of $99,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $910,393.80. This represents a 9.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total value of $209,720.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $748,333.39. This represents a 21.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,750 shares of company stock valued at $2,074,367 over the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Webster Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Webster Financial by 58.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 31,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after acquiring an additional 11,639 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 6.2% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 19,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $893,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $305,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,969,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $138,465,000 after purchasing an additional 54,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 6,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WBS stock opened at $61.81 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $52.66 and its 200 day moving average is $47.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.27. Webster Financial has a 12 month low of $39.33 and a 12 month high of $63.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $647.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $677.72 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Webster Financial will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.