Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS – Get Rating) and Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY – Get Rating) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Webster Financial and Valley National Bancorp's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Webster Financial and Valley National Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Webster Financial and Valley National Bancorp's gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Valley National Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Webster Financial. Valley National Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Webster Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

86.0% of Webster Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.0% of Valley National Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of Webster Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Valley National Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Webster Financial has a beta of 1.2, suggesting that its stock price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Valley National Bancorp has a beta of 1.11, suggesting that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Webster Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Valley National Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Webster Financial pays out 51.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Valley National Bancorp pays out 43.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Webster Financial has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years. Valley National Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Webster Financial beats Valley National Bancorp on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Webster Financial

(Get Rating)

Webster Financial Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of financial services to individuals, families, and businesses. It operates through the following business segments: Commercial Banking, HSA Bank, and Retail Banking. The Commercial Banking segment includes commercial banking and private banking. The HSA Bank segment offers comprehensive consumer directed healthcare solutions. The Retail Banking segment consists of consumer lending and small business banking units. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Stamford, CT.

About Valley National Bancorp

(Get Rating)

Valley National Bancorp operates as the holding company for Valley National Bank that provides various commercial, retail, insurance, and wealth management financial services products. It operates through Commercial Lending, Consumer Lending, and Investment Management segments. The company offers non-interest bearing, savings, NOW, money market, and time deposit accounts; commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, residential mortgage, and automobile loans; loans secured by the cash surrender value of life insurance; home equity loans and lines of credit; and secured and unsecured other consumer loans. It also invests in various securities and interest-bearing deposits with other banks; and provides international banking services, such as standby and documentary letters of credit, and related products, as well as foreign exchange transactions, documentary collections, foreign wire transfers services, and transaction accounts for non-resident aliens. In addition, the company offers investment services for individuals and small to medium sized businesses; and trusts and custom -tailored investment strategies for various retirement plans. Further, it provides trust services, such as living and testamentary trusts, investment management, custodial and escrow services, and estate administration to individuals; tax credit advisory services; property and casualty, life, health, and title insurance agency services; and health care equipment lending and other commercial equipment leasing services, as well as owns real estate related investments. Additionally, the company offers online, mobile, and telephone banking services; and overdraft, drive-in and night deposit, automated teller machine, remote deposit capture, and safe deposit facility services. As of December 31,2021, it operated 232 branch offices in New Jersey, New York, Florida, and Alabama. The company was incorporated in 1927 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Receive News & Ratings for Webster Financial Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Webster Financial and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.