Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Lowers Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Price Target to $65.00

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) had its price target decreased by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $70.00 to $65.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 36.84% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on WBS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.73.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:WBS opened at $47.50 on Friday. Webster Financial has a 12-month low of $39.34 and a 12-month high of $63.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $49.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a PE ratio of 10.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.08). Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. The firm had revenue of $704.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $708.46 million. Research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC increased its position in Webster Financial by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,493,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $469,007,000 after purchasing an additional 99,908 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,620,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $365,601,000 after buying an additional 45,310 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,130,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $228,000,000 after buying an additional 35,039 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,154,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,173,000 after acquiring an additional 116,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,948,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $162,828,000 after acquiring an additional 114,375 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.