Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Given New $70.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) had its target price lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $75.00 to $70.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on WBS. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $64.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.69.

Webster Financial Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of WBS stock opened at $54.97 on Monday. Webster Financial has a fifty-two week low of $39.43 and a fifty-two week high of $63.99. The stock has a market cap of $9.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.02. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.07% and a net margin of 21.32%.The business had revenue of $732.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $725.22 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Webster Financial will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 29.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Elzbieta Cieslik sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.58, for a total transaction of $123,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $917,172.52. The trade was a 11.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider James Mi Griffin sold 807 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.14, for a total value of $50,146.98. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,556 shares in the company, valued at $780,229.84. This trade represents a 6.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 28,630 shares of company stock valued at $1,694,449. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Webster Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Webster Financial by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $337,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016 shares in the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 425,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,275,000 after purchasing an additional 23,714 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 111.0% during the 3rd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 4,826 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 38,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,306,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.