WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) Downgraded to Equal Weight Rating by Stephens

Key Points

• Stephens downgraded WSFS Financial from “overweight” to “equal weight” while maintaining an $87 price target, implying 7.26% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans cautious: three analysts rate the stock a Buy and five rate it a Hold, producing a consensus “Hold” rating and an average target of $83.07.
• WSFS exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.66 in EPS versus the $1.50 estimate and $284.7 million in revenue, up 5.6% year over year; meanwhile, the CEO and an executive vice president recently sold shares.

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Stephens from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $87.00 price target on the bank's stock. Stephens' price objective indicates a potential upside of 7.26% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on WSFS. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of WSFS Financial in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on WSFS Financial from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $90.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of WSFS Financial in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of WSFS Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group set a $76.00 target price on WSFS Financial in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.07.

WSFS Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WSFS opened at $81.11 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.56 and a beta of 0.77. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $77.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.91. WSFS Financial has a 1-year low of $49.92 and a 1-year high of $82.94.

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.16. WSFS Financial had a net margin of 23.34% and a return on equity of 11.71%. The firm had revenue of $284.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $278.41 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that WSFS Financial will post 6.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at WSFS Financial

In other news, CEO Rodger Levenson sold 65,446 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.11, for a total value of $4,850,203.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 186,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,790,981.68. This trade represents a 26.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Shari Kruzinski sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.74, for a total value of $286,090.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,207 shares in the company, valued at $1,243,020.18. This trade represents a 18.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WSFS Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WSFS. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in WSFS Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $576,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of WSFS Financial during the second quarter worth about $47,000. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in WSFS Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $479,000. Planning Directions Inc. purchased a new position in WSFS Financial in the second quarter worth $502,000. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in WSFS Financial during the second quarter valued at about $5,724,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.49% of the company's stock.

WSFS Financial Company Profile

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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