Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Price Target Lowered to $56.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) had its target price decreased by Jefferies Financial Group from $65.00 to $56.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Raymond James reiterated an outperform rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Webster Financial from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Webster Financial from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $65.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $58.00.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of WBS opened at $48.79 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Webster Financial has a 1 year low of $31.03 and a 1 year high of $53.39. The stock has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $48.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.98.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.02). Webster Financial had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 22.01%. The company had revenue of $996.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $674.82 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Webster Financial will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Webster Financial news, insider Daniel Bley sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.60, for a total transaction of $95,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 27,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,330,658. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Webster Financial news, insider Daniel Bley sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.60, for a total transaction of $95,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 27,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,330,658. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles L. Wilkins sold 3,966 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.56, for a total value of $204,486.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,553,663.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,941 shares of company stock valued at $1,545,582 in the last 90 days. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,679,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $799,122,000 after acquiring an additional 116,092 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 17,498,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $689,800,000 after acquiring an additional 362,728 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,297,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $521,886,000 after acquiring an additional 1,433,204 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,904,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $311,587,000 after acquiring an additional 707,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,258,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $292,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339,862 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.