Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Receives $62.55 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $62.73.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of WBS traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $47.69. The stock had a trading volume of 1,181,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,273,986. The company's fifty day moving average is $49.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Webster Financial has a 52 week low of $39.34 and a 52 week high of $63.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.08). Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. The firm had revenue of $704.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $708.46 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Webster Financial will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Webster Financial's payout ratio is presently 36.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In related news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at $12,063,228.93. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,988.56. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Webster Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WBS. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,493,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $469,007,000 after buying an additional 99,908 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,620,818 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $365,601,000 after acquiring an additional 45,310 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,130,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $228,000,000 after acquiring an additional 35,039 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in Webster Financial by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,154,160 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $174,173,000 after acquiring an additional 116,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,948,701 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $162,828,000 after purchasing an additional 114,375 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.