Earnest Partners LLC Grows Holdings in WSFS Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WSFS)

Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of WSFS Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WSFS) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 304,290 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 4,325 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned approximately 0.52% of WSFS Financial worth $16,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Mariner LLC grew its holdings in WSFS Financial by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 4,457 shares of the bank’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of WSFS Financial by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 21,060 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,119,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in WSFS Financial by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,762 shares of the bank’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in WSFS Financial by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 31,725 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,686,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in WSFS Financial by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 17,880 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $950,000 after buying an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.49% of the company’s stock.

WSFS Financial Stock Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:WSFS opened at $51.66 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $50.93 and a 200-day moving average of $53.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 0.90. WSFS Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $42.21 and a 52 week high of $62.75.

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $256.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $235.44 million. WSFS Financial had a return on equity of 10.30% and a net margin of 18.77%. Analysts predict that WSFS Financial Co. will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

WSFS Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This is an increase from WSFS Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. WSFS Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on WSFS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on WSFS Financial from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at WSFS Financial

In other news, CEO Rodger Levenson sold 7,199 shares of WSFS Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.20, for a total transaction of $397,384.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 142,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,881,456. The trade was a 4.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.