Teza Capital Management LLC Buys New Shares in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Teza Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 9,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $516,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WBS. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 88.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 742.7% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Webster Financial Stock Down 0.8%

WBS stock opened at $52.48 on Tuesday. Webster Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.34 and a fifty-two week high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.01, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $48.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.36.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.08). Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. The business had revenue of $704.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $708.46 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 earnings per share. Webster Financial’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.04%.

Webster Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $700.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $61.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Raymond James cut their price target on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction of $780,728.19. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This represents a 41.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares of the company’s stock, 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 24,217 shares of company stock worth $1,386,244. Corporate insiders own 0.54% 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.