Seaport Res Ptn Issues Pessimistic Estimate for WBS Earnings

Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) – Investment analysts at Seaport Res Ptn lowered their Q4 2025 earnings per share estimates for Webster Financial in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, April 30th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst L. Hunsicker now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings of $1.42 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.51. The consensus estimate for Webster Financial’s current full-year earnings is $5.88 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Webster Financial’s Q1 2026 earnings at $1.43 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.52 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.57 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.64 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $6.17 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $60.00 target price on Webster Financial and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.73.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WBS opened at $49.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.98. Webster Financial has a 52-week low of $39.34 and a 52-week high of $63.99. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.40.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $704.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $708.46 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

Webster Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $700.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,110,988.56. This represents a 41.27 % 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 link. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction of $459,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,017 shares of company stock valued at $1,326,280. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Webster Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WBS. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $269,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Webster Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $246,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Webster Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,549,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,507,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,253,000 after buying an additional 38,713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 36.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 297,834 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,883,000 after buying an additional 79,556 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

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.