Webster Financial Corporation Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.40 (NYSE:WBS)

Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a dividend of 0.40 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, February 19th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th.

Webster Financial has a payout ratio of 24.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Webster Financial to earn $6.68 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.0%.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

WBS traded up $0.39 on Thursday, hitting $64.92. The company had a trading volume of 190,701 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,546,542. Webster Financial has a 1-year low of $39.43 and a 1-year high of $67.43. The stock has a market cap of $10.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $63.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $760.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Webster Financial will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WBS. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on Webster Financial from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Webster Financial from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Webster Financial from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.46.

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.