Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

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

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Webster Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th.

Webster Financial Stock Up 18.2 %

WBS opened at $60.12 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $10.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $47.68 and its 200 day moving average is $45.71. Webster Financial has a fifty-two week low of $38.54 and a fifty-two week high of $60.13.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The business had revenue of $647.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $677.72 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Webster Financial will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is presently 36.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total value of $209,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $748,333.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $748,333.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.14, for a total value of $230,130.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 32,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,676,369.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,963 shares of company stock worth $620,272 over the last three months. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Webster Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WBS. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the third quarter worth about $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Webster Financial by 340.7% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 7,650.0% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 117.9% during the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

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.