Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 8,320,949 shares, a growth of 25.4% from the February 26th total of 6,634,583 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,068,115 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days. Approximately 5.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WBS. Royal Bank Of Canada cut Webster Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group downgraded Webster Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $77.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial lowered Webster Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup cut Webster Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Webster Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.50.

Webster Financial Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE WBS traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $67.98. 5,228,891 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,458,190. The company’s fifty day moving average is $69.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. Webster Financial has a fifty-two week low of $39.43 and a fifty-two week high of $74.00. The stock has a market cap of $10.96 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 1.03.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.07. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 22.67%.The firm had revenue of $760.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Webster Financial will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is presently 27.07%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Webster Financial by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,920,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $498,509,000 after acquiring an additional 107,335 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,516,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,184,000 after purchasing an additional 156,636 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,246,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $330,207,000 after purchasing an additional 713,294 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,177,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $263,058,000 after purchasing an additional 16,676 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 0.6% during the 3rd 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 currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.