Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Webster Financial has a consensus “Hold” rating from 16 analysts: 11 holds, four buys, and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $74.25, below the reported share price of $78.77.
• The company slightly missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.60 in EPS versus $1.61 expected, while revenue of $769.23 million exceeded estimates and increased 3.4% year over year.
• Webster Financial declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, equivalent to a $1.60 annualized payout and a 2.0% yield; institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the stock.

Shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have issued a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $74.25.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Friday, June 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Webster Financial from $79.00 to $77.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in Webster Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $1,304,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the second quarter worth $95,000. Mystic Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the second quarter valued at about $300,000. Trillium Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the second quarter valued at about $252,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the second quarter valued at about $651,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Webster Financial Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Webster Financial stock opened at $78.77 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.55. Webster Financial has a 1 year low of $52.69 and a 1 year high of $79.74. The company has a market capitalization of $12.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.81 and a beta of 1.01.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $769.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $755.80 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.78% and a return on equity of 11.23%. Webster Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Webster Financial will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.02%.

About Webster Financial

Webster Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Waterbury, Connecticut. Through its principal subsidiary, Webster Bank, N.A., the company offers a broad range of banking products and financial services to individuals, small businesses, and middle-market commercial clients. Key offerings include deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, treasury management, and payment processing solutions.

In addition to traditional banking services, Webster Financial provides wealth management and insurance products designed to help clients plan for retirement, preserve assets, and manage risk.

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