Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $74.25.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Webster Financial from $79.00 to $77.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Webster Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WBS. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Webster Financial during the second quarter worth about $1,182,130,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 1.4% in the 4th 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. grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,516,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,184,000 after purchasing an additional 156,636 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,246,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $330,207,000 after purchasing an additional 713,294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 0.4% during 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. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

NYSE WBS opened at $77.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $12.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $76.54 and a 200-day moving average of $73.04. Webster Financial has a 52-week low of $52.69 and a 52-week high of $79.74.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $769.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $755.80 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.78% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Webster Financial will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.02%.

Webster Financial Company Profile

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.