Short Interest in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) Increases By 25.4%

Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 8,320,949 shares, an increase of 25.4% from the February 26th total of 6,634,583 shares. Approximately 5.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 7,068,115 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Webster Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 94,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,866,000 after buying an additional 2,049 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the first quarter worth about $114,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 40,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,069,000 after purchasing an additional 5,299 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 37.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,658,000 after purchasing an additional 176,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 476,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,543,000 after purchasing an additional 20,090 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WBS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Webster Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group downgraded Webster Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $77.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Truist Financial cut Webster Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $74.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.50.

Webster Financial Price Performance

WBS traded up $1.51 on Tuesday, hitting $69.43. 3,206,289 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,116,162. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.75 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Webster Financial has a 12 month low of $39.43 and a 12 month high of $74.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $69.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.54.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.07. Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 11.10%. The firm had revenue of $760.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.95 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Webster Financial will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is currently 27.07%.

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.