Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Purchases Shares of 524,180 WSFS Financial Corporation $WSFS

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 524,180 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $34,313,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WSFS. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of WSFS Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in WSFS Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its position in WSFS Financial by 167.5% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 781 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its position in WSFS Financial by 159.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 813 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Corp raised its holdings in WSFS Financial by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 817 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. 88.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WSFS. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of WSFS Financial in a research report on Friday, June 12th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of WSFS Financial from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of WSFS Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $81.00 target price (up from $79.00) on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 target price (up from $77.00) on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Rodger Levenson sold 65,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.11, for a total transaction of $4,850,203.06. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 186,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,790,981.68. This represents a 26.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

WSFS Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WSFS stock opened at $74.14 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. WSFS Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.92 and a fifty-two week high of $76.36.

WSFS Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This is a positive change from WSFS Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. WSFS Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.23%.

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.