Webster Financial (WBS) – Investment Analysts’ Weekly Ratings Updates

A number of firms have modified their ratings and price targets on shares of Webster Financial (NYSE: WBS) recently:

• 10/29/2024 – Webster Financial was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating.
• 10/18/2024 – Webster Financial was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating.
• 10/18/2024 – Webster Financial had its price target raised by analysts at Barclays PLC from $60.00 to $63.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 10/18/2024 – Webster Financial had its price target raised by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $57.00 to $62.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 10/18/2024 – Webster Financial had its price target raised by analysts at Wedbush from $52.00 to $59.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 10/18/2024 – Webster Financial had its price target raised by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $50.00 to $60.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 10/17/2024 – Webster Financial was given a new $58.00 price target on by analysts at Stephens.
• 10/9/2024 – Webster Financial had its price target lowered by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $58.00 to $55.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 9/30/2024 – Webster Financial had its price target lowered by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $57.00 to $54.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

NYSE WBS opened at $60.12 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $10.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $47.95 and a 200-day moving average of $45.81. Webster Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $38.54 and a 1-year high of $60.13.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $647.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.72 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.28%.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In other news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total transaction of $209,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $748,333.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Webster Financial news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total transaction of $209,720.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $748,333.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total transaction of $180,422.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,017,460.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,963 shares of company stock valued at $620,272. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Webster Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Webster Financial by 156.5% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 96,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,877,000 after purchasing an additional 58,602 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 1,859.1% during the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 15,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $684,000 after purchasing an additional 14,891 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Webster Financial in the 1st quarter worth $3,529,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Webster Financial by 28.9% in the 1st quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 94,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,806,000 after purchasing an additional 21,245 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,696,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,133,000 after buying an additional 218,877 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.