Royal Bank of Canada Lowers Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Price Target to $54.00

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $57.00 to $54.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 19.92% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on WBS. Bank of America assumed coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Webster Financial from $51.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.23.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WBS traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $45.03. 664,297 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,151,769. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $47.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.50. The firm has a market cap of $7.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.18, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.33. Webster Financial has a twelve month low of $31.03 and a twelve month high of $53.39.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $667.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $680.72 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 22.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial will post 5.8 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, insider Charles L. Wilkins sold 3,966 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.56, for a total transaction of $204,486.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,553,663.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Christopher J. Motl sold 10,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total value of $548,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 63,306 shares in the company, valued at $3,317,234.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Charles L. Wilkins sold 3,966 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.56, for a total transaction of $204,486.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 49,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,553,663.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,941 shares of company stock valued at $1,545,582 in the last three months. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Webster Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 22.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,258,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $292,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339,862 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,916,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $198,785,000 after acquiring an additional 430,331 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 1.8% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,732,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $110,165,000 after acquiring an additional 48,445 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 8.4% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,394,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,540,000 after acquiring an additional 184,905 shares during the period. Finally, Davis Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Davis Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,000,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $101,520,000 after acquiring an additional 250,000 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Webster Financial

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.