Research Analysts’ Recent Ratings Changes for Webster Financial (WBS)

Several brokerages have updated their recommendations and price targets on shares of Webster Financial (NYSE: WBS) in the last few weeks:

• 12/17/2024 – Webster Financial is now covered by analysts at UBS Group AG. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock.
• 12/6/2024 – Webster Financial was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating.
• 12/5/2024 – Webster Financial had its price target raised by analysts at Barclays PLC from $63.00 to $69.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 12/3/2024 – Webster Financial had its price target raised by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $70.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 11/18/2024 – Webster Financial was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating.
• 10/29/2024 – Webster Financial was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WBS traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $57.93. 65,364 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,227,276. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $9.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.85. Webster Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $39.33 and a 52 week high of $63.99.

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). Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The company had revenue of $647.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $677.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is presently 36.28%.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total value of $209,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $748,333.39. The trade was a 21.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Javier L. Evans sold 10,137 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total value of $581,965.17. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,300,738.37. The trade was a 30.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 37,250 shares of company stock valued at $2,105,322. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Webster Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WBS. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 170,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,447,000 after purchasing an additional 20,300 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 12.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,640,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,096,000 after acquiring an additional 301,935 shares in the last quarter. M&G PLC increased its stake in Webster Financial by 9.4% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 207,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,743,000 after purchasing an additional 17,746 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 1,482.9% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 339,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,801,000 after purchasing an additional 317,814 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,582,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

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.