JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Price Target to $68.00

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has lowered the price target for Webster Financial from $70.00 to $68.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.41% from the current price.
• Despite the downgrade by JPMorgan, the consensus rating among analysts for Webster Financial remains a Moderate Buy, with an average target price of $68.67.
• Webster Financial reported earnings of $1.52 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, while its revenue increased by 16.5% compared to the previous year.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $70.00 to $68.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would indicate a potential upside of 15.41% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $64.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $78.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.67.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WBS traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $58.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 282,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,302,825. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $59.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.07. Webster Financial has a fifty-two week low of $39.43 and a fifty-two week high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $715.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.59 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.84% and a net margin of 20.06%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Webster Financial news, insider James Mi Griffin sold 2,065 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.56, for a total transaction of $125,056.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,363 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $809,263.28. This trade represents a 13.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $463,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 239,872 shares in the company, valued at $13,900,582.40. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,445 shares of company stock valued at $2,168,537. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Webster Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $93,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 43.6% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 28,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,558,000 after purchasing an additional 8,663 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 4.3% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 72,192 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,942,000 after buying an additional 2,953 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 26.4% in the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 5,403 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 1,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the second quarter valued at about $270,000. 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.

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