Webster Financial Earnings Preview

Webster Financial (NYSE: WBS  ) will try to beat its earnings estimates for the third consecutive quarter. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Friday. Webster Financial through its Webster Bank and non-banking financial services subsidiaries delivers financial services to individuals, families, and businesses throughout southern New England and eastern New York.

What analysts say:

• Buy, sell, or hold? Analysts think investors should stand pat on Webster Financial with nine of 14 analysts rating it hold. Analysts like Webster Financial better than competitor Boston Private Financial Holdings overall. Two out of eight analysts rate Boston Private Financial Holdings a buy compared to five of 14 for Webster Financial. Analysts still rate the stock a hold, but they are a bit more wary about it compared to three months ago.
• Revenue forecasts: On average, analysts predict $139.8 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 5.7% from the year-ago quarter.
• Wall Street earnings expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of 35 cents per share. Estimates range from 32 cents to 38 cents.

What our community says:
The majority of CAPS All Stars see WBS as a good bet, with 73.9% awarding it an "outperform" rating. The majority of the Fools are in agreement with the All Stars as 64.8% give it an "outperform" rating. Fools are keen on Webster Financial, though the message boards have been quiet lately with only 46 posts in the past 30 days. Webster Financial's bearish CAPS rating of two out of five stars falls short of the Fool community sentiment.

Management:
Webster Financial's profit has risen year over year by an average of more than fivefold. Over the last four quarters, revenue has increased 0.5% on average year over year.

Now let's look at how efficient management is at running the business. Traditionally, margins represent the efficiency with which companies capture portions of sales dollars. The following table shows net margins over the past four quarters.

Quarter	Q1	Q4	Q3	Q2
Net Margin	15.6%	14.7%	10.1%	7.2%

One final thing: If you want to keep tabs on Webster Financial movements, and for more analysis on the company, make sure you add it to your Watchlist.

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