Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $64.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

WBS has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Webster Financial from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an overweight rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Thursday, January 11th. They issued a buy rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $57.31.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

WBS opened at $50.77 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $48.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.61. Webster Financial has a 1-year low of $31.03 and a 1-year high of $53.39. The company has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.32.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.02). Webster Financial had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 22.01%. The business had revenue of $996.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $674.82 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Webster Financial will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Investors of record on Monday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is currently 32.72%.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In related news, insider Daniel Bley sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.60, for a total transaction of $95,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,955 shares in the company, valued at $1,330,658. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Webster Financial news, COO Luis Massiani sold 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total transaction of $697,005.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 89,621 shares in the company, valued at $4,627,132.23. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.60, for a total transaction of $95,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 27,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,330,658. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,941 shares of company stock worth $1,796,482. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Webster Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Webster Financial by 88.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,401,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $976,594,000 after purchasing an additional 8,161,424 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Webster Financial by 219.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,782,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,381,000 after purchasing an additional 3,285,002 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Webster Financial by 68.8% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,511,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $421,534,000 after purchasing an additional 3,061,831 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $97,217,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Webster Financial by 2,063.7% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,888,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,306,000 after purchasing an additional 1,801,600 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

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.