Webster Financial (WBS) Competitors

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) and Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, community ranking, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation and media sentiment.

Do insiders & institutionals hold more shares of MTB or WBS?

84.7% of M&T Bank shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.6% of Webster Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of M&T Bank shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Webster Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in MTB or WBS?

Webster Financial received 285 more outperform votes than M&T Bank when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 58.76% of users gave Webster Financial an outperform vote while only 46.23% of users gave M&T Bank an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
M&T Bank	Outperform Votes 245 46.23%	Underperform Votes 285 53.77%
Webster Financial	Outperform Votes 530 58.76%	Underperform Votes 372 41.24%

Does the media prefer MTB or WBS?

In the previous week, M&T Bank had 15 more articles in the media than Webster Financial. MarketBeat recorded 25 mentions for M&T Bank and 10 mentions for Webster Financial. Webster Financial's average media sentiment score of 1.02 beat M&T Bank's score of 0.82 indicating that Webster Financial is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
M&T Bank	13 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Webster Financial	7 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate MTB or WBS?

M&T Bank presently has a consensus price target of $199.65, suggesting a potential downside of 6.50%. Webster Financial has a consensus price target of $57.85, suggesting a potential downside of 2.86%. Given Webster Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Webster Financial is more favorable than M&T Bank.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
M&T Bank	1 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Webster Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75

Which has higher valuation & earnings, MTB or WBS?

M&T Bank has higher revenue and earnings than Webster Financial. Webster Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than M&T Bank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
M&T Bank	$12.75B	2.78	$2.74B	$13.51	15.80
Webster Financial	$3.94B	2.59	$867.84M	$4.41	13.50

Is MTB or WBS more profitable?

Webster Financial has a net margin of 18.80% compared to M&T Bank's net margin of 17.82%. Webster Financial's return on equity of 11.03% beat M&T Bank's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
M&T Bank	17.82%	9.52%	1.15%
Webster Financial	18.80%	11.03%	1.23%

Which has more volatility & risk, MTB or WBS?

M&T Bank has a beta of 0.74, meaning that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Webster Financial has a beta of 1.27, meaning that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is MTB or WBS a better dividend stock?

M&T Bank pays an annual dividend of $5.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Webster Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. M&T Bank pays out 40.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Webster Financial pays out 36.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Webster Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Webster Financial beats M&T Bank on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.