Barclays Downgrades Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) to Hold

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) was downgraded by Barclays from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, UBS Group lowered Webster Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.36.

Webster Financial Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE WBS opened at $72.04 on Wednesday. Webster Financial has a 12-month low of $39.43 and a 12-month high of $73.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.62 billion, a PE ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $760.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Webster Financial will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.45, for a total transaction of $443,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 231,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,857,302.40. This represents a 3.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WBS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Webster Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $131,780,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 7,442.8% in the third quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,032,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,005,985 shares during the period. 140 Summer Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the third quarter worth about $75,465,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 221.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,565,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,483,000 after buying an additional 1,077,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $56,253,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Webster Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting Webster Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Santander agreed to acquire Webster in a ~$12.2–12.3B deal that values WBS at about $75.59 per share (cash + SAN ADS). The offer represents a premium to pre-deal levels and gives a tangible exit price for shareholders. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley trimmed its price target to $75 (equal weight), signaling limited upside from current levels even after the deal announcement — suggests some analysts see constrained incremental value post-offer. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Banco Santander’s shares have moved lower after the announcement, reflecting investor concerns about deal execution or financial impact on the acquirer; this is more relevant to SAN than directly to WBS but can influence deal sentiment. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Several brokerages (Barclays, TD Cowen, Jefferies, UBS, Stephens and others) downgraded WBS from strong-buy/overweight to hold/equal weight, cutting near-term sentiment and reducing buy-side momentum. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple shareholder-law firms (Kahn Swick & Foti, Johnson Fistel, Halper Sadeh and others) have opened investigations into the adequacy of the sale process and price, potentially signaling litigation or proxy disputes that could delay closing or pressure terms. Read More.

About Webster Financial

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.