Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.08 EPS

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08, RTT News reports. The firm had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687,532.71 billion. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 11.03%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share.

Webster Financial Stock Up 2.8 %

Webster Financial stock traded up $1.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $59.57. The company had a trading volume of 1,736,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 883,810. Webster Financial has a 12 month low of $39.33 and a 12 month high of $63.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $58.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.05. The company has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a PE ratio of 13.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.30.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wedbush upped their price target on Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.58.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In related news, insider Daniel Bley sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total transaction of $30,955.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,279 shares of the company's stock, 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 at the SEC website. Also, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total value of $209,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $748,333.39. This trade represents a 21.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,250 shares of company stock valued at $2,105,322 in the last quarter. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.