March 6, 2025
Top 10 Stock Webster Financial Hold Recommendation
How to read the ranks
For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".
Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".
Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.
Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.
(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).
(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.
Snapshot: Webster Financial – Top 10 Stock in Dow Jones U.S. Regional Banks Index
Webster Financial is listed as a top 10 stock on March 06, 2025 in the market index D.J. US Banks because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. Only one consolidated Obermatt Rank is above-average. The company enjoys a positive professional investor sentiment, but all financial facts speak against a stock purchase. This is probably an investment into the future. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 31 (31% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall hold recommendation for Webster Financial on March 06, 2025.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | USA |
| Industry | Regional Banks |
| Index | Diversity USA, D.J. US Banks, S&P MIDCAP |
| Size class | Large |
When Obermatt identifies the Top 10 stocks in a market, it’s based on a certain investment strategy. The best performing stocks usually aren’t the ones that everyone is talking about (those are often "over-priced" and have low Value ranks).
For each investment strategy, we provide you with more detailed analysis and our recommendation. You see the ranks of the top 10 stocks ranked by that particular investment strategy (360° View, Sentiment, Value, Growth, Safety and Combined Financial Performance).
360° View: Obermatt 360° View Webster Financial Hold
| 360 METRICS | March 6, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 37 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 7 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 46 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 75 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 31 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 31 (better than 31% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock Webster Financial are below the industry average. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with three out of four indicators below average for Webster Financial. The consolidated Sentiment Rank has a good rank of 75, which means that professional investors are more optimistic about the stock than for 75% of alternative investment opportunities. But all other ranks are below average. The consolidated Value Rank has a rank of 37, which means that the share price of Webster Financial is on the higher side compared with typical size in indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. The consolidated Growth Rank also has a low rank of 7, meaning that the company exhibits below-average growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, invested capital growth, and stock returns. This means that growth is lower than for 7% of competitors in the same industry. Finally, the consolidated Safety Rank has a riskier rank of 46 which means that the company has a riskier financing structure than 54% comparable companies when looking at the amount of its debt, its refinancing requirements, and its ability to service debt. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 31, Webster Financial is worse than 69% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. As only the professional market sentiment (Sentiment Rank of 75) is above-average, and all other consolidated Obermatt Ranks are below peers, the stock investing proposition case is rather weak. The stock price is expensive for a company of this size in this industry, visible in the below-average Value Rank. Growth is below the competition based on the Growth Rank, and the company has more debt than other companies, according to the Safety Rank. So the question becomes: How important is the Sentiment Rank when all others are below average? When it comes to growth, the low rating might be justified if growth is expected in the future and not yet reflected in current performance. This is often the case for companies with intellectual property, such as technology and pharmaceutical companies. In the early phases, these companies are expensive compared with their size and may have a lot of debt on their books, as is the case here, as seen in the low Value and Safety Ranks. Future growth may be the strongest investment rationale in this case, which is only reflected by institutional investors' opinions. You pay more than the market average for this stock and invest in a rather debt-loaded enterprise, but it may be worth it if the future of Webster Financiaḷ is bright. A small investment might be justified, but proceed with caution. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for Webster Financial very positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 75 (better than 75% compared with alternatives) for 2025, overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Webster Financial is very positive. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Webster Financial. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 86 (better than 86% of alternative investments), which means that, currently, stock research analysts tend to recommend a stock investment in the company. In addition, Analyst Opinions Change has a rank of 54, which means that stock research experts are changing their opinions for the better in recommending investing in the company. In other words, they are getting even more optimistic about investments in Webster Financial. Finally, the Professional Investors rank is 87, which means that currently, professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 87% of alternative investment opportunities. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 75 (more positive than 75% compared with investment alternatives), Webster Financial has a reputation among professional investors that is significantly higher than that of its competitors. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. But there is also a signal for caution. Market Pulse has a rank of 18, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks tend to be negative when discussing this company (more negative news than for 82% of competitors). This could mean future risks and should make investors careful. Attention to negative news for Webster Financial is worthwhile because they may be early warning signals. Without those, all other professional signals are encouraging, especially since analysts are getting more optimistic. ...read more
Value Strategy: Webster Financial Stock Price Value below-average critical
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 37 (worse than 63% compared with alternatives), Webster Financial shares are more expensive than the average comparable stock. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for Webster Financial. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 87 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 87% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning Webster Financial's profit levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 52, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 52% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than for 77% of alternatives (only 23% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than for 62% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive compared with the company's expected dividend payouts. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 37, is a hold recommendation based on Webster Financial's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. This is a puzzling picture, because it means that profits are high while dividends are low. Since the stock price is low compared with invested capital but high concerning expected revenues, the company has more invested capital than peers for generating the same amount of revenue. Since profits are higher, it could be a "cash cow" situation (using the classic Boston Consulting Group or BCG matrix naming convention) where the company is on a downward trend, still living from the profits of past products. As the company pays low dividends, it may harbor the opinion that a turnaround is possible, and it rather invests the cash than distribute it to shareholders through dividends, thus sealing the company's fate early. Any investment optimism should only be a buy trigger once thorough research is completed. ...read more
Growth Strategy: Webster Financial Growth Momentum negative
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 7 (better than 7% compared with alternatives), Webster Financial shows one of the most restricted growth dynamics in its industry. There is little momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with all four metrics below average for Webster Financial. Sales Growth has a rank of 29, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow less than 71% of its competitors. The same is valid for Profit Growth, with a rank of 37, and Capital Growth with 35. In addition, Stock Returns have a below market rank of 25, which means that the stock returns have recently been below 75% of alternative investments. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 7, is a sell recommendation for growth and momentum investors. These are all bad growth momentum indicators. These are negative signals for investors interested in growth companies. Value is likely good for this company, as investors may have left this stock in the cold. If that is the case, investors should look at the company's outlook, especially Sentiment performance, because it may be a turnaround situation that could entail above-average stock returns in the future. But it remains a risky bet, as no growth signals are in the green zone yet. ...read more
Safety Strategy: Webster Financial Debt Financing Safety below-average
| SAFETY METRICS | March 6, 2025 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 37 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 52 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 51 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 46 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 46 (better than 46% compared with alternatives), the company Webster Financial has financing practices on the riskier side, which means that their overall debt burden is above the industry average. This doesn't mean that the business of Webster Financial is also risky, it only means that the company is on the riskier side in respect to bankruptcy in case things turn sour, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with two out of three indicators above-average for Webster Financial. Refinancing is at 52, meaning the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is below average. It has less debt in the refinancing stage than 52% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at 51, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 51% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is safer when it comes to debt service. However, Leverage is rather large at 37, which means the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 63% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 46 (worse than 54% compared with alternatives), Webster Financial has a financing structure that is riskier than that of its competitors. This is not bad if things go well. The higher debt level means better returns to shareholders if things go well. Many top-performing companies operate with higher debt levels, and Webster Financial could be in that group. But if you expect the environment to turn rougher, the higher leverage could become a problem. The same is valid if you expect interest rates to rise. That could squeeze shareholder returns, which so far have benefitted from better conditions. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: Webster Financial Lowest Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | March 6, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 37 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 7 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 51 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 6 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 6 (worse than 94% compared with investment alternatives), Webster Financial (Regional Banks, USA) shares have lower financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Webster Financial are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 37 (worse than 63% of alternatives), show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 7), and are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 46), which means above-average debt burdens. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 6, is a sell recommendation based on Webster Financial's financial characteristics. As the company Webster Financial's key financial metrics all exhibit below-average performance, such as low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 37), low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 7), and risky financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 46), it is a somewhat questionable stock investment, where the risk of paying too much for the shares is significant, unless the company has an exceptionally bright future. Such poor financial performance sometimes indicates that the company's business is all concentrated in some distant future. This is sometimes the case for high-tech or biotechnology companies. If they own properties that only provide cash flows in the future, the stock may look excessively expensive and risky today. In such cases, the Obermatt Method has limited value as it is based on facts we can observe today. If the facts are all in the future, stock investing becomes guesswork, and this should only be a driver in a limited number of investments that should only amount to a small fraction of a safe portfolio. ...read more
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