Caxton Associates LLP Makes New Investment in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 680,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $47,252,000. Webster Financial makes up about 1.1% of Caxton Associates LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BOKF NA bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 246.8% in the first quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WBS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Friday, June 12th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $69.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $79.00 to $77.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.04.

Webster Financial Trading Down 1.5%

WBS stock opened at $75.44 on Friday. Webster Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $52.69 and a 52 week high of $77.69. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.33. The company has a market capitalization of $12.22 billion, a PE ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.01). Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.78% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The company had revenue of $739.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $755.80 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Corporation will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.19%.

Webster Financial Profile

Webster Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Waterbury, Connecticut. Through its principal subsidiary, Webster Bank, N.A., the company offers a broad range of banking products and financial services to individuals, small businesses, and middle-market commercial clients. Key offerings include deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, treasury management, and payment processing solutions.

In addition to traditional banking services, Webster Financial provides wealth management and insurance products designed to help clients plan for retirement, preserve assets, and manage risk.