Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Price Target Lowered to $77.50 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) had its price target trimmed by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $79.00 to $77.50 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on WBS. TD Cowen downgraded Webster Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup downgraded Webster Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 target price on Webster Financial in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Webster Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $69.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Webster Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.96.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Webster Financial stock traded down $0.13 on Friday, reaching $72.23. The stock had a trading volume of 2,042,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,688,825. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $70.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.30. The stock has a market cap of $11.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 1.02. Webster Financial has a fifty-two week low of $48.37 and a fifty-two week high of $74.00.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $764.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $735.26 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 11.31%. Webster Financial’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Webster Financial will post 6.58 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 26.19%.

Institutional Trading of Webster Financial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter worth $142,035,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 7,442.8% in the 3rd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,032,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,838,000 after buying an additional 2,005,985 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Webster Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $109,754,000. 140 Summer Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $75,465,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 221.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,565,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $85,483,000 after acquiring an additional 1,077,819 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

About Webster Financial

Webster Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Waterbury, Connecticut. Through its principal subsidiary, Webster Bank, N.A., the company offers a broad range of banking products and financial services to individuals, small businesses, and middle-market commercial clients. Key offerings include deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, treasury management, and payment processing solutions.

In addition to traditional banking services, Webster Financial provides wealth management and insurance products designed to help clients plan for retirement, preserve assets, and manage risk.