Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Price Target Cut to $58.00 by Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) had its price objective reduced by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $64.00 to $58.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on WBS. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $51.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. They issued a buy rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Webster Financial from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $56.23.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Webster Financial stock opened at $45.54 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.33, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.33. Webster Financial has a 12 month low of $31.03 and a 12 month high of $53.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $667.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $680.72 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 21.09% and a return on equity of 12.55%. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Webster Financial will post 5.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Luis Massiani sold 13,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total value of $697,005.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 89,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,627,132.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, COO Luis Massiani sold 13,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total value of $697,005.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 89,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,627,132.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christopher J. Motl sold 10,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total transaction of $548,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 63,306 shares in the company, valued at $3,317,234.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,975 shares of company stock worth $1,341,095 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Webster Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WBS. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 22.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,258,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $292,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339,862 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Webster Financial by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,916,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $198,785,000 after purchasing an additional 430,331 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Webster Financial by 1.8% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,732,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $110,165,000 after purchasing an additional 48,445 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in Webster Financial by 8.4% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,394,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,540,000 after purchasing an additional 184,905 shares during the period. Finally, Davis Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Webster Financial by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Davis Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,000,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $101,520,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.