Critical Survey: WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) and LifeStore Financial Group (OTCMKTS:LSFG)

LifeStore Financial Group (OTCMKTS:LSFG) and WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, risk and dividends.

Dividends

LifeStore Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.65 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. WSFS Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. WSFS Financial pays out 14.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. WSFS Financial has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

88.5% of WSFS Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.2% of LifeStore Financial Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of WSFS Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

LifeStore Financial Group has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WSFS Financial has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for LifeStore Financial Group and WSFS Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LifeStore Financial Group	0	0	0	0	0.00
WSFS Financial	0	2	4	0	2.67

WSFS Financial has a consensus price target of $66.25, indicating a potential upside of 20.09%. Given WSFS Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe WSFS Financial is more favorable than LifeStore Financial Group.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares LifeStore Financial Group and WSFS Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LifeStore Financial Group	$33.78 million	N/A	$5.56 million	N/A	N/A
WSFS Financial	$1.06 billion	2.86	$263.67 million	$4.85	11.37

WSFS Financial has higher revenue and earnings than LifeStore Financial Group.

Profitability

This table compares LifeStore Financial Group and WSFS Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LifeStore Financial Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
WSFS Financial	20.44%	10.60%	1.36%

Summary

WSFS Financial beats LifeStore Financial Group on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About LifeStore Financial Group

LifeStore Financial Group, Inc. operates as a federally chartered thrift holding company for LifeStore Bank that provides personal and business banking products and services in North Carolina. The company offers checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit; mortgage loans, automobile loans, home equity lines of credit, commercial real estate loans, commercial construction loans, investment property loans, equipment loans, working capital loans/lines of credit, and small business administration loans; and credit cards. It also provides insurance agency products and services; investment and cash management services; and online and mobile banking services. The company was formerly known as AF Financial Group and changed its name to LifeStore Financial Group, Inc. in September 2009. LifeStore Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in West Jefferson, North Carolina. Lifestore Financial Group, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of AsheCo MHC, Inc.

About WSFS Financial

WSFS Financial Corporation operates as the savings and loan holding company for the Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB that provides various banking services in the United States. It operates through three segments: WSFS Bank, Cash Connect, and Wealth Management. It offers various deposit products, including savings accounts, demand deposits, interest-bearing demand deposits, money market deposit accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as accepts jumbo certificates of deposit from individuals, businesses, and municipalities. The company also provides a range of loans, which comprise fixed and adjustable rate residential loans; commercial mortgage and commercial loans; commercial construction loans; commercial loans for working capital, financing equipment and real estate acquisitions, business expansion and other business purposes; and consumer credit products, such as home equity loans, home equity lines of credit, automobile loans, unsecured lines of credit, and other secured and unsecured personal installment loans. In addition, it offers insurance products; planning and advisory services, investment management, trust services, and credit and deposit products to individual, corporate and institutional clients; retail securities and insurance brokerage services; mortgage and title services; residential mortgage and refinancing solutions; and leases small equipment and fixed assets, as well as provides financial planning, customized investment strategies, brokerage products, fiduciary, and wealth management services. Further, the company provides ATM vault cash, smart safe, and other cash logistics services; and online reporting and ATM cash management, predictive cash ordering and reconcilement services, armored carrier management, loss protection, and deposit safe cash logistics services, as well as trustee, agency, bankruptcy administration, custodial and commercial domicile services. The company was founded in 1832 and is based in Wilmington, Delaware.