Wells Fargo & Company Downgrades Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) to Hold

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) was downgraded by Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays set a $75.00 price objective on Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group cut Webster Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $77.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Santander downgraded Webster Financial to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.36.

Webster Financial Price Performance

WBS opened at $73.28 on Friday. Webster Financial has a 1 year low of $39.43 and a 1 year high of $73.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $11.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $64.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.76.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $760.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.95 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 22.67%.During the same period last year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Webster Financial will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.45, for a total transaction of $443,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 231,872 shares in the company, valued at $12,857,302.40. This represents a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WBS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Webster Financial by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,812,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $464,402,000 after buying an additional 189,399 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 1.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,359,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $318,567,000 after acquiring an additional 63,403 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 2.2% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,160,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,340,000 after acquiring an additional 89,723 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 14.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,453,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $188,576,000 after purchasing an additional 438,131 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 0.6% in the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,163,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $188,016,000 after purchasing an additional 18,860 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Webster Financial News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Webster Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Santander agreed to acquire Webster in a transaction that market reports say will increase Santander’s U.S. scale and profitability — this takeover announcement is the primary bullish catalyst for WBS today. Santander to Buy Webster Bank
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley trimmed its price target from $77 to $75 and moved to an “equal weight” stance — a modest target cut that still implies small upside vs. current levels, so it’s a minor, mixed signal. Benzinga

About Webster Financial

Webster Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Waterbury, Connecticut. Through its principal subsidiary, Webster Bank, N.A., the company offers a broad range of banking products and financial services to individuals, small businesses, and middle-market commercial clients. Key offerings include deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, treasury management, and payment processing solutions.

In addition to traditional banking services, Webster Financial provides wealth management and insurance products designed to help clients plan for retirement, preserve assets, and manage risk.