Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $52.29.
Several research firms have recently commented on WBS. Jefferies Group LLC set a $53.00 price target on shares of Webster Financial Corporation and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 6th. Piper Jaffray Companies restated a “sell” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Webster Financial Corporation in a research report on Friday, July 14th. BidaskClub upgraded shares of Webster Financial Corporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 5th. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Webster Financial Corporation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial Corporation in a research report on Tuesday, June 27th.
Shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) traded up 0.87% during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $47.52. 380,199 shares of the stock were exchanged. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $50.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.44. The company has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80 and a beta of 1.25. Webster Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $36.96 and a 12 month high of $57.50.
Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $262.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $260.91 million. Webster Financial Corporation had a net margin of 20.43% and a return on equity of 9.49%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Webster Financial Corporation will post $2.55 EPS for the current year.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 7th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. Webster Financial Corporation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.33%.
In other news, EVP Daniel Bley sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.20, for a total transaction of $409,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,313,638.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nitin J. Mhatre sold 31,940 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.34, for a total transaction of $1,639,799.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,186,980.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.
Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WBS. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in Webster Financial Corporation by 14,031.4% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 10,092,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $505,043,000 after buying an additional 10,021,351 shares during the period. Koch Industries Inc. acquired a new position in Webster Financial Corporation during the second quarter valued at $1,387,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Webster Financial Corporation by 3,821.0% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 804,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,026,000 after buying an additional 784,251 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Webster Financial Corporation by 12.5% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,006,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $250,503,000 after buying an additional 556,988 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Webster Financial Corporation by 5.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,564,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,521,000 after buying an additional 395,457 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.67% of the company’s stock.
About Webster Financial Corporation
Webster Financial Corporation is a bank and financial holding company. The Company’s segments include Commercial Banking, Community Banking, HSA Bank, Private Banking, and Corporate and Reconciling. The Commercial Banking segment includes middle-market, asset-based lending, commercial real estate, equipment finance, and treasury and payment solutions, which includes government and institutional banking.
Receive News & Ratings for Webster Financial Corporation Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Webster Financial Corporation and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
