WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) and BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) Critical Comparison

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) and BancFirst (NASDAQ:BANF) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for WSFS Financial and BancFirst, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WSFS Financial	0	1	2	0	2.67
BancFirst	1	1	0	0	1.50

WSFS Financial presently has a consensus target price of $43.67, suggesting a potential upside of 3.06%. BancFirst has a consensus target price of $85.50, suggesting a potential upside of 3.29%. Given BancFirst’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe BancFirst is more favorable than WSFS Financial.

Profitability

This table compares WSFS Financial and BancFirst’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WSFS Financial	21.25%	11.96%	1.37%
BancFirst	26.25%	15.58%	1.74%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares WSFS Financial and BancFirst’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WSFS Financial	$1.27 billion	2.01	$269.16 million	$4.40	9.63
BancFirst	$809.34 million	3.37	$212.46 million	$6.34	13.06

WSFS Financial has higher revenue and earnings than BancFirst. WSFS Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BancFirst, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

WSFS Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. BancFirst pays an annual dividend of $1.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. WSFS Financial pays out 13.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. BancFirst pays out 27.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. BancFirst has increased its dividend for 30 consecutive years. BancFirst is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

88.5% of WSFS Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.7% of BancFirst shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of WSFS Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 33.9% of BancFirst shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

WSFS Financial has a beta of 1.03, indicating that its stock price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BancFirst has a beta of 1.09, indicating that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

BancFirst beats WSFS Financial on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The company also provides a range of loans, which comprise fixed and adjustable rate residential loans; commercial mortgage and commercial loans; commercial construction loans; commercial loans for working capital, financing equipment and real estate acquisitions, business expansion and other business purposes; and consumer credit products, such as home equity loans, home equity lines of credit, automobile loans, unsecured lines of credit, and other secured and unsecured personal installment loans. In addition, it offers insurance products; planning and advisory services, investment management, trust services, and credit and deposit products to individual, corporate and institutional clients; retail securities and insurance brokerage services; mortgage and title services; residential mortgage and refinancing solutions; and leases small equipment and fixed assets, as well as provides financial planning, customized investment strategies, brokerage products, fiduciary, and wealth management services. Further, the company provides ATM vault cash, smart safe, and other cash logistics services; and online reporting and ATM cash management, predictive cash ordering and reconcilement services, armored carrier management, loss protection, and deposit safe cash logistics services, as well as trustee, agency, bankruptcy administration, custodial and commercial domicile services. The company was founded in 1832 and is based in Wilmington, Delaware.

About BancFirst

BancFirst Corporation operates as the bank holding company for BancFirst that provides a range of commercial banking services to retail customers, and small to medium-sized businesses. The company operates through BancFirst Metropolitan Banks, BancFirst Community Banks, Pegasus, Worthington, and Other Financial Services segments. It offers checking accounts, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, sweep accounts, club accounts, individual retirement accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as overdraft protection and auto draft services. The company also provides commercial and agricultural non-real estate loans for working capital, facilities acquisition or expansion, purchase of equipment, and other needs; lending services that include private banking, energy, commercial and residential real estate, and commercial and industrial loans; and loans to finance purchases of consumer goods, such as automobiles, boats, household goods, vacations, and education. In addition, it engages in the investment management and administration of trusts for individuals, corporations, and employee benefit plans, as well as bond trustee and paying agent business for various Oklahoma municipalities and governmental entities; and provision of item processing, research, and other correspondent banking services to financial institutions and governmental units. Further, the company provides insurance agency services; depository and funds transfer, collection, safe deposit box, cash management, and other services. It serves customers in non-metropolitan trade centers and cities in the metropolitan statistical areas of Oklahoma. The company was formerly known as United Community Corporation and changed its name to BancFirst Corporation in November 1988. BancFirst Corporation was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.