Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Price Target Lowered to $57.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) had its target price decreased by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $59.00 to $57.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price indicates a potential upside of 17.09% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $51.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $60.00 to $65.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Webster Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.85.

Webster Financial Price Performance

WBS traded down $0.11 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $48.68. The stock had a trading volume of 224,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,109,740. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current 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 50 day moving average of $48.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.98.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher J. Motl sold 10,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total transaction of $548,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 63,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,317,234.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Webster Financial news, COO Luis Massiani sold 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total value of $697,005.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 89,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,627,132.23. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher J. Motl sold 10,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total transaction of $548,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 63,306 shares in the company, valued at $3,317,234.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,941 shares of company stock valued at $1,545,582 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Webster Financial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 valued at $799,122,000 after acquiring an additional 116,092 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 2.1% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 17,498,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $689,800,000 after buying an additional 362,728 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 18.2% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,297,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $521,886,000 after buying an additional 1,433,204 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 9.8% in the first 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 period. Finally, FMR LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 1,339,862 shares during the period. 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.