Tudor Investment Corp ET AL Takes Position in WSFS Financial Corporation $WSFS

Key Points

• Tudor Investment Corp bought a new stake of 21,382 WSFS shares (~$1.15M) in Q3, and several other institutions (including Citadel, Cooke & Bieler, Pzena and Numerai) materially increased holdings — institutional ownership is about 88.49%.
• WSFS beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.43 vs. $1.26), posted a 21.14% net margin with revenue up 4% year-over-year, declared a $0.17 quarterly dividend (1.0% yield), and the stock trades near $69 with a consensus target around $71.42.

Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 21,382 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,153,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WSFS. Citadel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of WSFS Financial by 1,190.1% during the third quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 153,234 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,264,000 after acquiring an additional 141,356 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its stake in shares of WSFS Financial by 15.5% during the third quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,031,956 shares of the bank's stock valued at $55,653,000 after acquiring an additional 138,220 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of WSFS Financial by 14.5% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 928,413 shares of the bank's stock valued at $50,069,000 after acquiring an additional 117,244 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of WSFS Financial by 31.6% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 441,671 shares of the bank's stock valued at $24,292,000 after acquiring an additional 105,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Numerai GP LLC bought a new stake in shares of WSFS Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,713,000. Institutional investors own 88.49% of the company's stock.

WSFS Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WSFS stock opened at $69.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60 and a beta of 0.75. The company's 50 day moving average is $65.84 and its 200 day moving average is $59.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. WSFS Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $45.15 and a 52-week high of $71.32.

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.17. WSFS Financial had a net margin of 21.14% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The company had revenue of $90.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $267.36 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. WSFS Financial's revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that WSFS Financial Corporation will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WSFS Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. WSFS Financial's payout ratio is currently 13.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WSFS Financial news, EVP Shari Kruzinski sold 1,000 shares of WSFS Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.10, for a total value of $70,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,033,274. The trade was a 6.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James J. Wechsler sold 450 shares of WSFS Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.89, for a total transaction of $31,450.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,777 shares in the company, valued at $403,754.53. This represents a 7.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,455 shares of company stock valued at $242,923. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSFS has been the topic of several research reports. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $74.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $71.00 price objective (up from $66.00) on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of WSFS Financial from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WSFS Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.42.

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.

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