Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $63.75.

Several equities analysts recently commented on WBS shares. Raymond James reduced their target price on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $60.00 price target on shares of Webster Financial and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In related news, Director Lauren States sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.80, for a total transaction of $111,760.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,620 shares in the company, valued at $742,696. The trade was a 13.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.97, for a total value of $59,964.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,015,240.49. The trade was a 5.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,200 shares of company stock worth $257,836. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Webster Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new stake in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WBS opened at $51.22 on Monday. Webster Financial has a 52-week low of $39.34 and a 52-week high of $63.99. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.98.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $704.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $708.46 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.35 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Webster Financial will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $700.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 36.04%.

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.