WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• WSFS Financial Corporation experienced a significant increase in short interest, rising by 48.1% from July to August, totaling 1,600,000 shares.
• The company reported $1.27 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $1.13 and demonstrating year-over-year revenue growth of 0.6%.
• WSFS Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share, with a yield of 1.2% and a low dividend payout ratio of 14.91%.

WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,600,000 shares, a growth of 48.1% from the July 31st total of 1,080,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 334,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.8 days. Based on an average trading volume of 334,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WSFS Financial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in WSFS Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,860,000. Boston Partners bought a new stake in WSFS Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $17,668,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in WSFS Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $12,090,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of WSFS Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $8,834,000. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP raised its holdings in shares of WSFS Financial by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 892,286 shares of the bank's stock valued at $46,283,000 after purchasing an additional 109,519 shares in the last quarter. 88.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WSFS Financial Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of WSFS traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $56.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 226,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 258,752. The company has a 50 day moving average of $56.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.42 and a beta of 0.91. WSFS Financial has a 1-year low of $42.44 and a 1-year high of $62.75.

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $267.50 million for 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%. The firm's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that WSFS Financial will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WSFS Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. WSFS Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WSFS. DA Davidson boosted their target price on WSFS Financial from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen cut WSFS Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WSFS Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.00.

About WSFS Financial

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.