Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Price Target to $54.00

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) had its price objective trimmed by Royal Bank of Canada from $57.00 to $54.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $64.00 to $58.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Webster Financial from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $56.23.

Webster Financial Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of WBS stock opened at $45.54 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $7.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.33, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.33. Webster Financial has a 52-week low of $31.03 and a 52-week high of $53.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.50.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $667.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $680.72 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 21.09% and a return on equity of 12.55%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.49 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial will post 5.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Luis Massiani sold 13,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total transaction of $697,005.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 89,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,627,132.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, COO Luis Massiani sold 13,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total transaction of $697,005.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 89,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,627,132.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 2,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,330,658. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,975 shares of company stock valued at $1,341,095 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WBS. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $97,217,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 22.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,258,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $292,587,000 after buying an additional 1,339,862 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 1,773.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,324,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,389,000 after buying an additional 1,253,778 shares in the last quarter. Azora Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 146.3% in the fourth quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 1,477,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,983,000 after buying an additional 877,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,916,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $198,785,000 after buying an additional 430,331 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

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.