Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $67.00.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $67.00 price target (up previously from $61.00) on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock.

Webster Financial Trading Down 1.3%

Webster Financial stock opened at $61.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Webster Financial has a 1 year low of $39.43 and a 1 year high of $63.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $59.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.87.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $715.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $716.59 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 20.06% and a return on equity of 10.84%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Webster Financial will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is presently 32.45%.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, insider Jason A. Soto sold 2,500 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.21, for a total transaction of $153,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 18,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,156,195.69. The trade was a 11.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $463,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 239,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,900,582.40. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,445 shares of company stock valued at $2,168,537 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WBS. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 327.2% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 118.4% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 3,628.6% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 43.7% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.