Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Issues Earnings Results

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08, RTT News reports. The firm had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687,532.71 billion. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.80%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:WBS opened at $57.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Webster Financial has a twelve month low of $39.33 and a twelve month high of $63.99. The stock has a market cap of $9.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.90.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 36.28%.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total value of $209,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $748,333.39. This represents a 21.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,250 shares of company stock valued at $2,105,322. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. 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 research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.58.

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.