Barclays Raises Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Price Target to $77.00

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by stock analysts at Barclays from $72.00 to $77.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Barclays's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 30.71% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $60.00 target price on Webster Financial and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial began coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $61.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Webster Financial from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.17.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of WBS stock traded down $0.13 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $58.91. The company had a trading volume of 1,560,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,284,414. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.00. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $52.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.99. Webster Financial has a one year low of $39.43 and a one year high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $704.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.46 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.58% and a return on equity of 10.57%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Webster Financial will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $700.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Webster Financial news, Director Lauren States sold 2,200 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.80, for a total transaction of $111,760.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 14,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $742,696. The trade was a 13.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Javier L. Evans sold 7,800 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.58, for a total value of $410,124.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,820 shares in the company, valued at $1,042,135.60. The trade was a 28.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,000 shares of company stock valued at $934,210 over the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Webster Financial by 327.2% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 739 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 118.4% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 832 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.