Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 17,364 Shares of WSFS Financial Corporation $WSFS

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC significantly reduced its stake in WSFS Financial Corporation by 71.9%, selling 17,364 shares, and now holds 6,789 shares valued at approximately $351,000.
• WSFS Financial reported earnings of $1.27 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.13, with a revenue of $267.50 million.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share, yielding 1.2% annually, with a low payout ratio of 14.91%.

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its holdings in WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS - Free Report) by 71.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,789 shares of the bank's stock after selling 17,364 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in WSFS Financial were worth $351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in WSFS Financial by 4.9% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 4,439 shares of the bank's stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in WSFS Financial by 37.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the bank's stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in WSFS Financial by 2.2% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 324,266 shares of the bank's stock worth $16,820,000 after buying an additional 7,012 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in WSFS Financial by 49.6% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 51,747 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,749,000 after buying an additional 17,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in WSFS Financial by 6.8% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,081 shares of the bank's stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WSFS shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded WSFS Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on WSFS Financial from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.00.

WSFS Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WSFS traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $58.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 297,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 288,447. WSFS Financial Corporation has a one year low of $42.44 and a one year high of $62.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 0.91. The stock's 50-day moving average is $56.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.66.

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.14. WSFS Financial had a return on equity of 10.15% and a net margin of 19.29%.The company had revenue of $267.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $221.93 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. WSFS Financial's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that WSFS Financial Corporation will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

WSFS Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. WSFS Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.91%.

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.