Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Price Target to $70.00

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) had its price target reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $75.00 to $70.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on WBS. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $64.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $78.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.69.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

NYSE WBS opened at $55.92 on Monday. Webster Financial has a 1 year low of $39.43 and a 1 year high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $9.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.41, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $59.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.14.

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

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.80%.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $463,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 239,872 shares in the company, valued at $13,900,582.40. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Elzbieta Cieslik sold 2,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.58, for a total value of $123,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,172.52. The trade was a 11.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,630 shares of company stock valued at $1,694,449. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Webster Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WBS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $131,780,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 221.0% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,565,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,483,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077,819 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 7.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,108,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $366,408,000 after acquiring an additional 487,264 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Webster Financial in the first quarter valued at $23,603,000. Finally, Azora Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 30.5% in the second quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 1,886,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $102,997,000 after buying an additional 440,347 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Company Profile

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.