Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stake in WSFS Financial Corporation $WSFS

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group boosted its WSFS Financial stake by 64% in the first quarter, ending with 427,481 shares valued at about $28.0 million.
• Analysts remain mixed but generally constructive on the stock, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $77.07; several firms recently raised their targets.
• WSFS Financial recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.20 per share from $0.17, while CEO Rodger Levenson also sold 65,446 shares in a disclosed insider transaction.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS - Free Report) by 64.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 427,481 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 166,837 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.82% of WSFS Financial worth $27,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSFS. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in WSFS Financial by 92.4% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 431 shares of the bank's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WSFS Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WSFS Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of WSFS Financial by 167.5% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 781 shares of the bank's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of WSFS Financial by 159.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 813 shares of the bank's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.49% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson increased their target price on WSFS Financial from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $81.00 price objective (up from $79.00) on shares of WSFS Financial in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, UBS Group set a $76.00 target price on WSFS Financial in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.07.

WSFS Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ WSFS opened at $79.84 on Monday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $74.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.01. WSFS Financial Corporation has a one year low of $49.92 and a one year high of $80.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21 and a beta of 0.76.

WSFS Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $0.20 dividend. This is a boost from WSFS Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. WSFS Financial's payout ratio is presently 14.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WSFS Financial 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 186,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,790,981.68. This represents a 26.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

WSFS Financial 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.

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