Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) Receives $67.00 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Key Points

• Webster Financial Corporation has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from fourteen ratings firms, with an average target price of $67.00.
• The company's quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.52, surpassing estimates and achieving a revenue increase of 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year.
• Webster Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, representing a 2.6% yield, with a payout ratio of 32.45%.

Shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $67.00.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WBS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $67.00 price target (up previously from $61.00) on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Webster Financial in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered Webster Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, insider Jason A. Soto sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.21, for a total transaction of $153,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 18,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,156,195.69. The trade was a 11.69% 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 business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $463,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 239,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,900,582.40. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,445 shares of company stock worth $2,168,537 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Webster Financial

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amundi increased its stake in Webster Financial by 699.7% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 137,740 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,100,000 after buying an additional 120,516 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Webster Financial by 166.1% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,027 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Webster Financial by 48.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,032 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Webster Financial by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 77,103 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,975,000 after buying an additional 6,948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Webster Financial by 43.7% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 941 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

WBS traded down $0.82 on Friday, reaching $61.50. 3,389,612 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,346,285. The company's 50-day moving average price is $59.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.89. Webster Financial 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 $10.22 billion, a PE ratio of 12.47, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.07.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $715.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Webster Financial will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Webster Financial's payout ratio is currently 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.