Brokerages Set Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Target Price at $62.08

Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.08.

Several research firms recently issued reports on WBS. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In other news, insider Charles L. Wilkins sold 5,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.50, for a total value of $297,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,002,591.50. This trade represents a 12.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.33, for a total value of $474,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 218,924 shares in the company, valued at $12,988,760.92. This trade represents a 3.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $903,085 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,493,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $469,007,000 after buying an additional 99,908 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Webster Financial by 4.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 333,606 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,620,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $365,601,000 after purchasing an additional 45,310 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,130,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $228,000,000 after purchasing an additional 35,039 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,154,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,173,000 after purchasing an additional 116,508 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of WBS stock opened at $59.08 on Friday. Webster Financial has a 12 month low of $39.33 and a 12 month high of $63.99. The company has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $57.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The firm had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Webster Financial will post 5.85 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 36.61%.

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.