Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Position in WSFS Financial Corporation $WSFS

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its holdings in WSFS Financial Corporation by 5.3%, selling 370,916 shares in the first quarter, now owning 6,630,107 shares worth approximately $343.9 million.
• WSFS Financial posted an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.27 for the last quarter, exceeding the expected $1.13, with a revenue of $267.5 million, up 0.6% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 1.2% and a payout ratio of 14.91%.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS - Free Report) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,630,107 shares of the bank's stock after selling 370,916 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.43% of WSFS Financial worth $343,904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WSFS. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of WSFS Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $18,167,000. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its holdings in shares of WSFS Financial by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 892,286 shares of the bank's stock worth $46,283,000 after acquiring an additional 109,519 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of WSFS Financial by 7,004.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 105,711 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,483,000 after acquiring an additional 104,223 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of WSFS Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $3,290,000. Finally, Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of WSFS Financial by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 718,978 shares of the bank's stock worth $38,199,000 after acquiring an additional 48,822 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.49% of the company's stock.

WSFS Financial Stock Performance

WSFS traded down $0.19 on Wednesday, hitting $55.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 51,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 331,402. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $55.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.60. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.09 and a beta of 0.89. WSFS Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $42.44 and a 12 month high of $62.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $1.27 EPS 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 revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Analysts forecast that WSFS Financial Corporation will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

WSFS Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of WSFS Financial from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. DA Davidson increased their price objective 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of WSFS Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WSFS Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.00.

WSFS Financial 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.