The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Grows Stake in WSFS Financial Corporation $WSFS

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in WSFS Financial Corporation by 0.8% during Q1, now owning approximately 1.05% of the company valued at $31 million.
• Analysts generally maintain a positive outlook, with a consensus target price of $66.00 and two "buy" ratings for WSFS Financial shares.
• WSFS Financial recently reported an EPS of $1.27, exceeding expectations, along with a quarterly revenue of $267.5 million, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 0.6%.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 597,649 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 4,913 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 1.05% of WSFS Financial worth $31,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in WSFS Financial by 90.0% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 532 shares of the bank's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in WSFS Financial by 72.7% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 701 shares of the bank's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in WSFS Financial by 37.0% during 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. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in WSFS Financial by 6.8% during 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. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in WSFS Financial by 4.9% during 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. 88.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WSFS Financial Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ WSFS traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $58.29. 297,099 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 288,447. The company has a 50 day moving average of $56.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.66. 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 Corporation has a 52-week low of $42.44 and a 52-week high of $62.75. The firm has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 0.91.

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business 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 firm posted $1.08 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that WSFS Financial Corporation will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

WSFS Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. WSFS Financial's dividend payout ratio is 14.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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