NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd Invests $8.49 Million in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new stake in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 111,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,487,000. Webster Financial makes up about 0.9% of NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Webster Financial during the second quarter worth about $1,182,130,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,920,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $498,509,000 after purchasing an additional 107,335 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake 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 period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its stake in Webster Financial by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,177,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $263,058,000 after buying an additional 16,676 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Down 0.5%

WBS stock opened at $78.62 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $76.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 1.01. Webster Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $52.69 and a fifty-two week high of $79.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.01). Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 22.78%.The firm had revenue of $769.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $755.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Corporation will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $79.00 to $77.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.25.

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.