Graham Capital Management L.P. Makes New Investment in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Webster Financial Corporation, buying 105,608 shares valued at approximately $5.44 million, during the 1st quarter.
• Webster Financial reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.52, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.43, and saw a 16.5% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.6%, with a dividend payout ratio of 32.45%.

Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 105,608 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,444,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. owned 0.06% of Webster Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WBS. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 327.2% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 739 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 118.4% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 832 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 43.7% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 941 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 171.2% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,025 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WBS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays raised their price objective on Webster Financial from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Webster Financial from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut Webster Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Webster Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In related news, Director William L. Atwell sold 16,823 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.20, for a total value of $995,921.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 30,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,830,168. This represents a 35.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles L. Wilkins sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.25, for a total value of $266,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,534 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,679,185.50. The trade was a 13.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,445 shares of company stock worth $2,250,007. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

WBS traded up $1.11 on Thursday, reaching $62.88. 885,781 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,291,044. The company's 50-day moving average price is $58.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.44. Webster Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $39.43 and a fifty-two week high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.45 billion, a PE ratio of 12.75, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.07.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $715.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.59 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.84% and a net margin of 20.06%.The company's revenue was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.45%.

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.