WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $83.00 and last traded at $83.00, with a volume of 368 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $80.20.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSFS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Friday, June 12th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of WSFS Financial in a research report on Wednesday. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $87.00 target price on shares of WSFS Financial in a research note on Monday, July 27th. DA Davidson set a $83.00 price target on shares of WSFS Financial and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WSFS Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.64.

WSFS Financial Price Performance

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 company has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $76.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.70.

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

WSFS Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. WSFS Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.38%.

Insider Activity at WSFS Financial

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WSFS Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of WSFS Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,193,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in WSFS Financial in the first quarter worth about $34,313,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in WSFS Financial by 71.5% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 470,191 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,973,000 after purchasing an additional 195,979 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in WSFS Financial by 64.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 427,481 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,983,000 after purchasing an additional 166,837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of WSFS Financial by 1,190.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 153,234 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,264,000 after purchasing an additional 141,356 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.49% of the company’s stock.

WSFS Financial Company Profile

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.