Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Raised to “Overweight” at Wells Fargo & Company

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $75.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $70.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 35.97% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Stephens set a $58.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Webster Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.46.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $55.16 on Monday. Webster Financial has a 12 month low of $39.33 and a 12 month high of $63.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $57.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.34.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $647.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $677.72 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 11.03%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Webster Financial will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Webster Financial news, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.14, for a total value of $230,130.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 32,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,676,369.20. This represents a 12.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $748,333.39. This trade represents a 21.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 37,250 shares of company stock worth $2,105,322 in the last 90 days. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Webster Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 4.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,320,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $341,229,000 after purchasing an additional 333,606 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 28.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,522,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $240,687,000 after buying an additional 1,206,575 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in Webster Financial by 0.4% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,086,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,524,000 after buying an additional 13,487 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,969,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $138,465,000 after acquiring an additional 54,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 12.9% in 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 during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.