Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.02), Briefing.com reports. Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.01% and a return on equity of 13.05%. The business had revenue of $667.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $680.72 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.49 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis.

Webster Financial Price Performance

NYSE:WBS traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $45.54. 1,451,840 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,162,297. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Webster Financial has a 12-month low of $31.03 and a 12-month high of $53.39. The company has a market cap of $7.82 billion, a PE ratio of 9.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.33. The business's 50-day moving average price is $47.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Daniel Bley sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.60, for a total value of $95,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,330,658. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Daniel Bley sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.60, for a total transaction of $95,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,330,658. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christopher J. Motl sold 10,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total transaction of $548,890.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 63,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,317,234.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,941 shares of company stock valued at $1,545,582 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WBS shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $51.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.23.

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.