Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Now Covered by UBS Group

Analysts at UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday. The brokerage set a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stephens set a $58.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.00.

Webster Financial Trading Down 1.4 %

WBS stock traded down $0.80 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $58.20. The company had a trading volume of 111,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,228,065. The business has a 50 day moving average of $56.00 and a 200 day moving average of $48.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $9.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.29. Webster Financial has a 52 week low of $39.33 and a 52 week high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.72 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Webster Financial will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Webster Financial news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total value of $209,720.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Javier L. Evans sold 10,137 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total transaction of $581,965.17. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,300,738.37. This represents a 30.91 % 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 worth $2,105,322 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Webster Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 28.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,522,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,575 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Webster Financial by 64.9% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,604,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,927,000 after purchasing an additional 631,080 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 182.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 959,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,496,000 after purchasing an additional 619,934 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $22,146,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 4.8% in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.