Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $76.13 and last traded at $76.0620, with a volume of 2587810 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $75.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on WBS shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Webster Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Santander lowered Webster Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Webster Financial from $79.00 to $77.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $69.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.96.

Webster Financial Stock Down 0.7%

The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $72.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.40. The firm has a market cap of $12.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 1.00.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $764.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Corporation will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 26.19%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,920,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $498,509,000 after purchasing an additional 107,335 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,516,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,184,000 after purchasing an additional 156,636 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,246,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $330,207,000 after purchasing an additional 713,294 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Webster Financial by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,177,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $263,058,000 after purchasing an additional 16,676 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Webster Financial by 67.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,727,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $258,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,504,075 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Company Profile

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.