Wedbush Predicts Webster Financial’s Q1 Earnings (NYSE:WBS)

Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) – Stock analysts at Wedbush reduced their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Webster Financial in a research note issued on Tuesday, November 5th. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings of $1.30 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.34. Wedbush has a “Neutral” rating and a $59.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Webster Financial’s current full-year earnings is $5.23 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Webster Financial’s Q2 2025 earnings at $1.37 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.46 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.52 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $5.65 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $6.50 EPS.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The firm had revenue of $647.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $677.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.55 EPS.

WBS has been the topic of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays upped their target price on Webster Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.85.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $50.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s fifty day moving average is $47.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.71. 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 12-month low of $38.54 and a 12-month high of $54.38.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 36.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total transaction of $209,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $748,333.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,676,369.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total transaction of $209,720.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $748,333.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,963 shares of company stock worth $620,272 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 9.3% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Webster Financial by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $210,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 6.5% during the first quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 4,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 3.6% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 17.0% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

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.