WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.28 EPS

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.28, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $275.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $274.17 million. WSFS Financial had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 21.14%.WSFS Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS.

WSFS Financial Trading Up 1.1%

WSFS Financial stock traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $70.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 266,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 432,783. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a PE ratio of 13.75 and a beta of 0.75. WSFS Financial has a 1 year low of $48.64 and a 1 year high of $72.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $65.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.04.

WSFS Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. WSFS Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on WSFS shares. DA Davidson started coverage on WSFS Financial in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $74.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $71.00 target price (up from $66.00) on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Zacks Research cut WSFS Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WSFS Financial news, EVP Shari Kruzinski sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.10, for a total transaction of $70,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,740 shares in the company, valued at $1,033,274. This represents a 6.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP James J. Wechsler sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.89, for a total value of $31,450.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,777 shares in the company, valued at $403,754.53. This trade represents a 7.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 3,455 shares of company stock worth $242,923 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WSFS Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of WSFS Financial by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,066,591 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $58,918,000 after acquiring an additional 60,931 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in WSFS Financial by 71.5% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 470,191 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,973,000 after buying an additional 195,979 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in WSFS Financial by 0.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 443,465 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,916,000 after buying an additional 1,794 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in WSFS Financial by 22.4% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 381,060 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $20,551,000 after buying an additional 69,741 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in WSFS Financial by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 244,671 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,516,000 after buying an additional 11,980 shares in the last quarter. 88.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.