Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $62.08.

WBS has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Stephens set a $58.00 price target on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Webster Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In other news, insider Daniel Bley sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total transaction of $30,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,279 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,742.89. This trade represents a 2.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lauren States sold 1,650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total transaction of $99,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $910,393.80. The trade was a 9.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $903,085 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WBS. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 340.7% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 595 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Webster Financial Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE WBS traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $59.90. 476,859 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 979,032. 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 stock has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.68. Webster Financial has a one year low of $39.33 and a one year high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Webster Financial will post 5.85 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Webster Financial's payout ratio is 36.61%.

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.