Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) PT Lowered to $54.00

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) had its target price lowered by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $57.00 to $54.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 19.92% from the stock’s current price.

WBS has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Webster Financial from $51.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Webster Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.23.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of WBS stock traded up $0.15 on Wednesday, reaching $45.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 664,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,151,769. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.50. Webster Financial has a 1 year low of $31.03 and a 1 year high of $53.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $7.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.33.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted 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). Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.01% and a return on equity of 13.05%. The business had revenue of $667.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $680.72 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Webster Financial will post 5.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Webster Financial news, insider Daniel Bley sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.60, for a total value of $95,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,955 shares in the company, valued at $1,330,658. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Christopher J. Motl sold 10,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total transaction of $548,890.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 63,306 shares in the company, valued at $3,317,234.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.60, for a total value of $95,200.00. Following the sale, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,941 shares of company stock worth $1,545,582. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Webster Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Webster Financial by 1.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,278,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,556,000 after buying an additional 21,026 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in Webster Financial by 98.1% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 149,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,576,000 after buying an additional 73,924 shares during the last quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Webster Financial by 7.6% in the third quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. now owns 5,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Webster Financial by 58.2% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 319,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,874,000 after buying an additional 117,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Webster Financial by 15.7% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 83,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,375,000 after buying an additional 11,387 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.