Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Truist Financial

Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) in a report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $61.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on WBS. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.58.

Webster Financial Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE WBS opened at $52.91 on Tuesday. Webster Financial has a 1-year low of $39.34 and a 1-year high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The business’s 50 day moving average is $48.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.98.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.08). Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. The company had revenue of $704.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $708.46 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. Webster Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Webster Financial will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is currently 36.04%.

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

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction of $459,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. This trade represents a 3.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total transaction of $86,112.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,517 shares in the company, valued at $1,029,373.28. This trade represents a 7.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,217 shares of company stock valued at $1,386,244. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBS. Barclays PLC increased its position in Webster Financial by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 297,834 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,883,000 after purchasing an additional 79,556 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Webster Financial by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new position in Webster Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $298,000. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in Webster Financial by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Webster Financial by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 498,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,525,000 after purchasing an additional 23,328 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

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.