WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) Given Overweight Rating at Stephens

Stephens restated their overweight rating on shares of WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS - Free Report) in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $64.00 price objective on the bank's stock.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of WSFS Financial from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.75.

WSFS Financial Trading Up 2.6 %

WSFS traded up $1.33 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $53.30. The stock had a trading volume of 213,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 295,178. WSFS Financial has a 1-year low of $42.21 and a 1-year high of $62.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $50.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.63.

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.09. WSFS Financial had a return on equity of 10.30% and a net margin of 18.77%. The company had revenue of $256.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $235.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that WSFS Financial will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WSFS Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. This is an increase from WSFS Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. WSFS Financial's dividend payout ratio is 15.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Rodger Levenson sold 7,199 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.20, for a total value of $397,384.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 142,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,881,456. This trade represents a 4.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WSFS Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in WSFS Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,313,175 shares of the bank's stock valued at $122,899,000 after purchasing an additional 19,895 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of WSFS Financial by 309.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,687,824 shares of the bank's stock valued at $89,674,000 after buying an additional 1,276,078 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its stake in shares of WSFS Financial by 14.0% in the first quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 892,286 shares of the bank's stock valued at $46,283,000 after buying an additional 109,519 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in WSFS Financial by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 809,334 shares of the bank's stock worth $43,000,000 after buying an additional 9,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in WSFS Financial by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 740,584 shares of the bank's stock worth $39,347,000 after acquiring an additional 19,650 shares in the last quarter. 88.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WSFS Financial Company Profile

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.