WSFS Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WSFS) Short Interest Update

WSFS Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WSFS) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,520,000 shares, a growth of 27.7% from the November 30th total of 1,190,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 295,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.1 days.

WSFS Financial Price Performance

Shares of WSFS stock opened at $53.39 on Monday. WSFS Financial has a 12 month low of $40.19 and a 12 month high of $62.75. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $55.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.02. WSFS Financial had a net margin of 18.78% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $267.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $260.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that WSFS Financial will post 4.27 EPS for the current year.

WSFS Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. WSFS Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 13.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of WSFS Financial by 5,000.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 918 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in WSFS Financial by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,451 shares of the bank’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in WSFS Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $127,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in WSFS Financial in the third quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Lansing Street Advisors bought a new stake in shares of WSFS Financial during the third quarter worth $207,000. 88.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott restated a “neutral” rating on shares of WSFS Financial in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective (down from $58.00) on shares of WSFS Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.75.

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.