Should I Buy WBS? WBS 2026 Analysis

Should You Buy Webster Financial Corp (WBS) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Conclusion

Buy

Latest Price

73.130

1 Day change

1.54%

52 Week Range

73.500

Analysis Updated At

2026/01/30

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Buy WBS now. The stock’s trend is still bullish (stacked moving averages), fundamentals just printed strong (Q4’25 EPS and net income up sharply YoY), and Street sentiment remains firmly positive with multiple price-target raises after earnings. Despite a small post-market dip and hedge-fund selling pressure, the balance of data favors near-term upside, which fits an impatient buyer better than waiting for a perfect pullback.

Technical Analysis

Trend: Bullish overall, but slightly stretched/pausing short-term.

Moving averages: Bullish alignment (SMA_5 > SMA_20 > SMA_200) suggests an established uptrend.
RSI(6)=61.87: Neutral-to-mildly bullish; not overbought, room to run.
MACD histogram=-0.0137: Below zero and negatively contracting, indicating momentum has softened and price may consolidate before the next leg.
Levels: Pivot 65.155 (price ~64.73 is just below pivot = mild near-term weakness). Support S1 63.516 then S2 62.504. Resistance R1 66.794 then R2 67.806.
Probabilistic trend read: Similar-pattern stats imply modest upside next week (+1.85%) but flatter next month (-0.35%), consistent with “uptrend + consolidation.”

Intellectia Proprietary Trading Signals

AI Stock Picker: No signal on given stock today.
SwingMax: No signal on given stock recently.

Options Data

Bullish

Open Interest Put-Call Ratio

Bullish

Option Volume Put-Call Ratio

Sentiment: Bullish skew.

OI put/call 0.51: More call positioning than puts (constructive).
Volume put/call 0.01: Extremely call-dominant on the day, but total volume is small (162 contracts), so treat it as a sentiment hint, not a strong conviction read.
Volatility: IV(30d)=42.36 vs HV=36.31 with IV percentile 77.2 → options are relatively expensive; the market is pricing elevated uncertainty post-earnings/into macro rate moves.

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

Earnings/operational momentum: Q4 results beat on core EPS ($1.
and showed strong YoY EPS growth; credit trends noted as improving.
Growth narrative: Reports cite ~8% loan growth in Q4 and management optimism.
Street support: Multiple firms reiterated Buy/Outperform and raised targets immediately after earnings; regional bank “catch-up” theme with curve steepening and buybacks cited.
Financial acceleration: Q4’25 net income and EPS growth indicate improving profitability leverage.

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

Post-market weakness (-1.58%) and price sitting just below pivot (65.
suggest near-term digestion risk.
Revenue mixed: One summary notes sales fell short of projections (headline risk even with EPS beat).
Fund flows: Hedge funds are selling (selling amount up sharply QoQ), which can cap near-term upside.
Macro/industry risk: Management commentary and analysts note funding competition/tighter spreads could pressure NIM in the near term.
Options pricing: Elevated IV percentile implies the market expects larger moves; can coincide with choppier trading.

Financial Performance

Latest quarter: 2025/Q4.

Revenue: $737.7M, +12.87% YoY (top-line growth).
Net income: $248.7M, +44.80% YoY (profitability improving faster than revenue).
EPS: $1.55, +53.47% YoY (strong per-share earnings growth). Overall: Clear acceleration in earnings power and margin/provision dynamics versus last year, supporting the bullish medium-term thesis.

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

Recent trend: Predominantly positive revisions after Q4 earnings.

Targets raised/ratings reiterated: Truist (to $73, Buy), TD Cowen (to $79, Buy), Keefe Bruyette (to $77, Outperform), Raymond James (to $73, Outperform), Citi (maintained Buy though trimmed to $75 post-report; previously raised to $77), plus broad 2026 “tailwinds” commentary.
Notable outlier: UBS target shown at $165 (likely an outlier vs peer targets clustered ~$72–$79, but still signals bullish stance). Wall Street pros: Above-peer growth profile, improving credit trends, potential buyback/curve-steepening tailwinds. Wall Street cons: Near-term NIM pressure from competition and occasional revenue softness. Influential/political trading: No recent congress trading data available; insiders neutral; no notable recent insider trend reported.

13 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast WBS stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for WBS is 75 USD with a low forecast of 70 USD and a high forecast of 80 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.

11 Buy

2 Hold

0 Sell

Strong Buy

Current: 72.020

Low

Averages

High

Current: 72.020

Low

Averages

High

Wells Fargo

Overweight -> Equal Weight

downgrade

$70

AI Analysis

2026-02-06

New

Reason

Wells Fargo

Price Target

$70

AI Analysis

2026-02-06

New

downgrade

Overweight -> Equal Weight

Reason

Wells Fargo downgraded Webster Financial (WBS) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a $70 price target post the takeover announcement by Santander (SAN). This period should show the greatest level of consolidation in a decade, which should help banks that trade below franchise value, Wells adds.

Barclays

Overweight -> Equal Weight

downgrade

$80 -> $75

2026-02-04

New

Reason

Barclays

Price Target

$80 -> $75

2026-02-04

New

downgrade

Overweight -> Equal Weight

Reason

Barclays downgraded Webster Financial (WBS) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $75, down from $80, after the company announced an agreement to be acquired by Santander (SAN).

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WBS Should I Buy

WBS Should I Buy

Should You Buy Webster Financial Corp (WBS) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Technical Analysis

Options Data

Technical Summary

Positive Catalysts

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

Financial Performance

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

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