Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Receives $57.85 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $57.85.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Webster Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In other news, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.14, for a total transaction of $230,130.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,676,369.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Webster Financial news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total value of $209,720.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $748,333.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.14, for a total value of $230,130.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,676,369.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,963 shares of company stock valued at $620,272. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. M&G PLC grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 9.4% during the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 207,297 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,743,000 after buying an additional 17,746 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new position in Webster Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $209,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 5.0% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 36,378 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,696,000 after buying an additional 1,736 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Webster Financial by 8.5% during the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,976 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 38.8% in the third quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,231 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of Webster Financial stock traded down $0.77 during trading on Thursday, reaching $51.80. 1,018,098 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,245,654. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Webster Financial has a twelve month low of $37.18 and a twelve month high of $54.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $47.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.56.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $647.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.72 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Webster Financial will post 5.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.79%.

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.