Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the sixteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $73.9643.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WBS. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Santander cut shares of Webster Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Friday, June 12th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $69.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $79.00 to $77.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st.

Webster Financial Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE WBS opened at $76.06 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $72.70 and its 200-day moving average is $69.31. The stock has a market cap of $12.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45 and a beta of 1.01. Webster Financial has a twelve month low of $51.45 and a twelve month high of $76.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $764.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $735.26 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Webster Financial will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Webster Financial

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $142,035,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its position in Webster Financial by 7,442.8% in the 3rd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,032,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,838,000 after acquiring an additional 2,005,985 shares in the last quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Webster Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $133,634,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Webster Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $109,754,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Webster Financial by 67.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,727,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $258,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,504,075 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.