Webster Financial (WBS) Competitors

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) and Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, media sentiment, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Do analysts prefer MTB or WBS?

M&T Bank currently has a consensus price target of $211.48, indicating a potential upside of 5.93%. Webster Financial has a consensus price target of $63.75, indicating a potential upside of 10.87%. Given Webster Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Webster Financial is more favorable than M&T Bank.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
M&T Bank	1 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	13 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.57
Webster Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.91

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of MTB or WBS?

84.7% of M&T Bank shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.6% of Webster Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of M&T Bank shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Webster Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media refer more to MTB or WBS?

In the previous week, M&T Bank had 10 more articles in the media than Webster Financial. MarketBeat recorded 25 mentions for M&T Bank and 15 mentions for Webster Financial. M&T Bank's average media sentiment score of 0.99 beat Webster Financial's score of 0.56 indicating that M&T Bank is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
M&T Bank	14 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Webster Financial	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, MTB or WBS?

M&T Bank has higher revenue and earnings than Webster Financial. Webster Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than M&T Bank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
M&T Bank	$13.45B	2.38	$2.59B	$14.93	13.37
Webster Financial	$4.18B	2.31	$768.71M	$4.44	12.95

Is MTB or WBS a better dividend stock?

M&T Bank pays an annual dividend of $5.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Webster Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. M&T Bank pays out 36.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Webster Financial pays out 36.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Webster Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has more volatility and risk, MTB or WBS?

M&T Bank has a beta of 0.63, meaning that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Webster Financial has a beta of 1, meaning that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Is MTB or WBS more profitable?

M&T Bank has a net margin of 19.86% compared to Webster Financial's net margin of 18.58%. Webster Financial's return on equity of 10.57% beat M&T Bank's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
M&T Bank	19.86%	10.18%	1.28%
Webster Financial	18.58%	10.57%	1.18%

Summary

M&T Bank beats Webster Financial on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.