Head to Head Survey: SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK) versus WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS)

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

Dividends

SmartFinancial pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. WSFS Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. SmartFinancial pays out 18.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. WSFS Financial pays out 13.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. SmartFinancial has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. SmartFinancial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares SmartFinancial and WSFS Financial’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SmartFinancial	$240.37 million	1.50	$28.59 million	$1.69	12.47
WSFS Financial	$1.27 billion	2.15	$269.16 million	$4.40	10.26

WSFS Financial has higher revenue and earnings than SmartFinancial. WSFS Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SmartFinancial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

58.8% of SmartFinancial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.5% of WSFS Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.8% of SmartFinancial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of WSFS Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

SmartFinancial has a beta of 0.69, meaning that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WSFS Financial has a beta of 1.02, meaning that its share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for SmartFinancial and WSFS Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SmartFinancial	0	1	1	1	3.00
WSFS Financial	0	2	2	0	2.50

SmartFinancial presently has a consensus price target of $26.50, indicating a potential upside of 25.77%. WSFS Financial has a consensus price target of $44.75, indicating a potential downside of 0.86%. Given SmartFinancial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe SmartFinancial is more favorable than WSFS Financial.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SmartFinancial	11.90%	7.67%	0.72%
WSFS Financial	21.25%	11.96%	1.37%

Summary

WSFS Financial beats SmartFinancial on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SmartFinancial

SmartFinancial, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for SmartBank that provides various financial services to individuals and corporate customers in Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida. It operates through Commercial Real Estate, Consumer Real Estate, Construction and Land Development, Commercial and Industrial, Leases, and Consumer and Other segments. The company offers noninterest-bearing and interest-bearing checking, interest-bearing demand, savings, money market, time deposit, individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also provides commercial and residential real estate, consumer real estate, and construction and land development loans; commercial and financial loans and leases; commercial business and mortgage loans; and direct consumer installment, educational, agriculture, and other revolving credit loans; equipment financing, heavy equipment, semis, and trailers loans and leases to small and mid-size companies; letters of credit; and overdraft facilities. In addition, the company offers wealth management, insurance, mortgage origination, and internet and mobile banking services. SmartFinancial, Inc. is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee.

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.