Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Price Target Cut to $72.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) had its price target decreased by Barclays from $80.00 to $72.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider's stock.

WBS has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.92.

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Webster Financial Stock Performance

WBS traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $42.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,840,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,261,812. The company's 50-day moving average is $52.33 and its 200-day moving average is $54.38. Webster Financial has a 52 week low of $39.34 and a 52 week high of $63.99. The firm has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a PE ratio of 9.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share 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 net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Webster Financial will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. Webster Financial's payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction of $780,728.19. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Webster Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WBS. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 6.8% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 31,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,488,000 after acquiring an additional 2,032 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 63.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 8,884 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $414,000 after purchasing an additional 3,456 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 12.0% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 158,454 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,386,000 after buying an additional 17,020 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Webster Financial by 4.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,320,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $341,229,000 after buying an additional 333,606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 57.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 770,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,922,000 after buying an additional 281,686 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company's stock.

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.