WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS) Short Interest Update

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 increase in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,600,000 shares, anincreaseof48.1% from the July 31st total of 1,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 334,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.8 days. Based on an average daily volume of 334,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WSFS Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSFS. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in shares of WSFS Financial by 4.9% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 4,439 shares of the bank's stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of WSFS Financial by 37.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the bank's stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of WSFS Financial by 2.2% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 324,266 shares of the bank's stock valued at $16,820,000 after buying an additional 7,012 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of WSFS Financial by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 51,747 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,749,000 after buying an additional 17,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of WSFS Financial by 6.8% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,081 shares of the bank's stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.49% of the company's stock.

WSFS Financial Price Performance

WSFS Financial stock opened at $58.29 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $56.85 and its 200 day moving average is $53.66. WSFS Financial has a one year low of $42.44 and a one year high of $62.75. The firm has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $221.93 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that WSFS Financial will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

WSFS Financial Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson upped their price objective 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 downgraded WSFS Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, WSFS Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.

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