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

Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $60.31.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WBS shares. 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. StockNews.com raised Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Webster Financial from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Stephens set a $58.00 price target on Webster Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In related news, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.14, for a total value of $230,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,676,369.20. The trade was a 12.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total value of $180,422.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,529 shares in the company, valued at $1,017,460.90. This trade represents a 15.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 37,250 shares of company stock worth $2,105,322. Insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Webster Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Webster Financial by 28.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,522,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $240,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,575 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 64.9% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,604,198 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $69,927,000 after acquiring an additional 631,080 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 182.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 959,180 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,496,000 after acquiring an additional 619,934 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Webster Financial in the third quarter valued at $22,146,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in Webster Financial by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,320,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $341,229,000 after purchasing an additional 333,606 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Webster Financial Stock Up 1.6 %

WBS traded up $0.86 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $54.99. The company had a trading volume of 3,565,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,245,774. The company has a market capitalization of $9.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.29. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $56.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.93. 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 52 week low of $39.33 and a 52 week high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $647.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $677.72 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.80%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.28%.

About Webster Financial

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.