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 reduced its stake in WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS - Free Report) by 71.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,789 shares of the bank's stock after selling 17,364 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in WSFS Financial were worth $351,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aberdeen Group plc raised its holdings in WSFS Financial by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 524,841 shares of the bank's stock worth $27,224,000 after acquiring an additional 13,549 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its holdings in WSFS Financial by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 140,177 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,271,000 after acquiring an additional 14,438 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new position in WSFS Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $17,668,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in WSFS Financial by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 10,357 shares of the bank's stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in WSFS Financial by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,278 shares of the bank's stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. 88.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WSFS Financial Price Performance

WSFS Financial stock traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $57.72. The stock had a trading volume of 69,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 327,377. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.65 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm's 50 day moving average is $56.91 and its 200 day moving average is $53.67. WSFS Financial Corporation has a one year low of $42.44 and a one year high of $62.75.

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

WSFS Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. WSFS Financial's dividend payout ratio is 14.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

WSFS Financial Company Profile

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.