26,358 Shares in WSFS Financial Corporation $WSFS Bought by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 26,358 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,725,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.05% of WSFS Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WSFS. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in WSFS Financial by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,598 shares of the bank’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its stake in WSFS Financial by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 68,460 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,782,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in WSFS Financial by 92.4% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 431 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WSFS Financial by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,148 shares of the bank’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WSFS Financial by 3.7% in the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 6,389 shares of the bank’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. 88.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WSFS shares. DA Davidson set a $83.00 price target on shares of WSFS Financial and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of WSFS Financial in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of WSFS Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, UBS Group set a $76.00 target price on WSFS Financial in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at WSFS Financial

In other WSFS Financial news, CEO Rodger Levenson sold 65,446 shares of WSFS Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.11, for a total transaction of $4,850,203.06. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 186,088 shares in the company, valued at $13,790,981.68. The trade was a 26.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Shari Kruzinski sold 3,500 shares of WSFS Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.74, for a total value of $286,090.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,243,020.18. The trade was a 18.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

WSFS Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WSFS opened at $81.55 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.64 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $76.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.88. WSFS Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.92 and a fifty-two week high of $82.30.

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.16. WSFS Financial had a net margin of 23.34% and a return on equity of 11.71%. The firm had revenue of $284.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $278.41 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that WSFS Financial Corporation will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WSFS Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. WSFS Financial’s payout ratio is currently 13.38%.

About WSFS Financial

WSFS Financial Corporation is the bank holding company for WSFS Bank, a regional financial institution headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware. The company traces its roots to the Safe Deposit & Trust Company, founded in 1832, and formally organized as WSFS Financial in the mid-1980s. Over its long history, WSFS has grown through a combination of organic expansion and selective acquisitions to serve a broad base of individual, commercial and institutional clients.

WSFS Bank offers a full suite of banking and financial services, including retail and commercial deposit accounts, commercial and industrial lending, real estate financing, and treasury management solutions.