WSFS Financial Corporation $WSFS Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon reduced its WSFS Financial stake by 4.7% in the first quarter, while other institutions—including Principal Financial and Fifth Third Bancorp—expanded their positions. Institutional investors collectively own 88.49% of the company.
• WSFS Financial shares opened at $80.61, near their 12-month high of $82.30. The bank reported quarterly EPS of $1.66, beating estimates of $1.50, while revenue rose 5.6% year over year to $284.7 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.80 payout and a 1.0% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $81.64.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its stake in WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS - Free Report) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 387,125 shares of the bank's stock after selling 18,986 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.74% of WSFS Financial worth $25,341,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WSFS Financial during the first quarter worth $213,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in WSFS Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $302,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in WSFS Financial by 64.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 427,481 shares of the bank's stock valued at $27,983,000 after purchasing an additional 166,837 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of WSFS Financial by 11,821.6% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 28,731 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,881,000 after purchasing an additional 28,490 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of WSFS Financial by 21.8% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 23,138 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,511,000 after purchasing an additional 4,145 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.49% of the company's stock.

WSFS Financial Stock Up 1.0%

WSFS Financial stock opened at $80.61 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a PE ratio of 13.48 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.02. WSFS Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $49.92 and a 12 month high of $82.30.

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $284.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $278.41 million. WSFS Financial had a net margin of 23.34% and a return on equity of 11.71%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that WSFS Financial Corporation will post 6.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WSFS Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. WSFS Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WSFS Financial

In other news, CEO Rodger Levenson sold 65,446 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.11, for a total value of $4,850,203.06. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 186,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,790,981.68. This represents a 26.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WSFS. DA Davidson set a $83.00 price target on shares of WSFS Financial and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of WSFS Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (up from $77.00) on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group set a $76.00 price target on WSFS Financial in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded WSFS Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Four research 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 presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.64.

About WSFS Financial

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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