Barclays Lowers Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Price Target to $72.00

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) had its price objective decreased by investment analysts at Barclays from $80.00 to $72.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 54.24% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on WBS. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group initiated coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.92.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Webster Financial stock opened at $46.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $8.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.44. Webster Financial has a 1 year low of $39.34 and a 1 year high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. The company had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Webster Financial will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Webster Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new stake in Webster Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Webster Financial by 171.2% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Webster Financial by 78.7% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 492 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.