Webster Financial Co. (WBS) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.40 on February 20th

Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 29th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.40 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th.

Webster Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 23.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Webster Financial to earn $6.61 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.2%.

Webster Financial Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $60.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $10.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.30. Webster Financial has a 1-year low of $39.33 and a 1-year high of $63.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $58.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.95.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The business had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Webster Financial will post 5.84 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lauren States sold 1,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total transaction of $99,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $910,393.80. This represents a 9.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Javier L. Evans sold 10,137 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total value of $581,965.17. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,300,738.37. This trade represents a 30.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,287 shares of company stock worth $1,485,050 in the last three months. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WBS shares. Wedbush boosted their price target on Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens set a $58.00 price target on Webster Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group assumed 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.08.

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.