Brokerages Set Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) Price Target at $68.73

Shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and fourteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $69.6923.

WBS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down previously from $68.00) on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Webster Financial from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th.

Insider Activity

In other Webster Financial news, insider James Mi Griffin sold 807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.14, for a total value of $50,146.98. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 12,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $780,229.84. This trade represents a 6.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $463,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 239,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,900,582.40. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,630 shares of company stock worth $1,694,449 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Webster Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Webster Financial by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016 shares during the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 5.9% during the third quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 425,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,275,000 after purchasing an additional 23,714 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 111.0% in the third quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 4,826 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 8.2% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in Webster Financial by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 38,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,306,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:WBS opened at $54.97 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $9.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.24, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.05. Webster Financial has a 1 year low of $39.43 and a 1 year high of $63.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.02. Webster Financial had a net margin of 21.32% and a return on equity of 11.07%. The firm had revenue of $732.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.22 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Webster Financial will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.80%.

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.