Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.08 EPS

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08, RTT News reports. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The company had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687,532.71 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.46 EPS.

Webster Financial Stock Up 2.8 %

WBS stock opened at $59.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a PE ratio of 13.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.01. Webster Financial has a 52 week low of $39.33 and a 52 week high of $63.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.28%.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, insider Daniel Bley sold 500 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total value of $30,955.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,279 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,742.89. The trade was a 2.81 % 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, Director Lauren States sold 1,650 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total value of $99,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $910,393.80. This represents a 9.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,250 shares of company stock valued at $2,105,322 over the last quarter. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.58.

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.