WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) Reaches New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Shares hit a new 52-week high intraday after DA Davidson raised its price target from $70 to $76 while maintaining a neutral rating; the stock traded as high as $72.82.
• Analyst coverage is mixed — four Buy and four Hold ratings leave an average consensus of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $73.79.
• WSFS beat quarterly EPS estimates (reported $1.43) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.20 (annualized $0.80), implying a roughly 1.1% yield and an ex-dividend date of May 8.

WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after DA Davidson raised their price target on the stock from $70.00 to $76.00. DA Davidson currently has a neutral rating on the stock. WSFS Financial traded as high as $72.82 and last traded at $72.5060, with a volume of 31616 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $71.39.

WSFS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of WSFS Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on WSFS Financial from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of WSFS Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research lowered WSFS Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Brean Capital assumed coverage on WSFS Financial in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $74.50 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.79.

Insider Activity at WSFS Financial

In related news, EVP James J. Wechsler sold 450 shares of WSFS Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.89, for a total value of $31,450.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $403,754.53. This trade represents a 7.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Arthur J. Bacci sold 2,005 shares of WSFS Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.51, for a total value of $141,372.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 26,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,859,066.66. This represents a 7.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,455 shares of company stock valued at $242,923. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC bought a new position in WSFS Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,051,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in WSFS Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,153,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in WSFS Financial by 46.5% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 89,669 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,836,000 after purchasing an additional 28,471 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in WSFS Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,169,000. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP grew its stake in WSFS Financial by 15.5% in the third quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,031,956 shares of the bank's stock valued at $55,653,000 after purchasing an additional 138,220 shares in the last quarter. 88.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WSFS Financial Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.81 and a beta of 0.75.

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $90.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $267.36 million. WSFS Financial had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 22.55%.The business's revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that WSFS Financial Corporation will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WSFS Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is an increase from WSFS Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. WSFS Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.10%.

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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