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

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

Webster Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $57.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Webster Financial has a 12-month low of $39.33 and a 12-month high of $63.99. The business has a 50 day moving average of $58.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.90. The company has a market capitalization of $9.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.13, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.30.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WBS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Stephens set a $58.00 price objective on Webster Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report 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. According to MarketBeat, Webster Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.58.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In other news, insider Daniel Bley sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total transaction of $30,955.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,742.89. This represents a 2.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.33, for a total value of $474,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 218,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,988,760.92. This represents a 3.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 37,250 shares of company stock valued at $2,105,322 in the last 90 days. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.