Head to Head Comparison: Comerica (NYSE:CMA) & WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS)

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

Dividends

Comerica pays an annual dividend of $2.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. WSFS Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Comerica pays out 53.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. WSFS Financial pays out 15.3% 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.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Comerica	13.98%	12.04%	0.93%
WSFS Financial	18.77%	10.30%	1.26%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

80.7% of Comerica shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.5% of WSFS Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Comerica shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of WSFS Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Comerica has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WSFS Financial has a beta of 0.9, indicating that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Comerica and WSFS Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Comerica	$3.29 billion	2.25	$698.00 million	$5.29	10.67
WSFS Financial	$1.05 billion	2.94	$263.67 million	$4.45	11.98

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Comerica and WSFS Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Comerica	5	9	6	0	2.05
WSFS Financial	0	3	2	0	2.40

Comerica currently has a consensus price target of $62.84, indicating a potential upside of 11.34%. WSFS Financial has a consensus price target of $62.75, indicating a potential upside of 17.73%. Given WSFS Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe WSFS Financial is more favorable than Comerica.

Summary

WSFS Financial beats Comerica on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Comerica

Comerica Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services. The company operates through Commercial Bank, Retail Bank, Wealth Management, and Finance segments. The Commercial Bank segment offers various products and services, including commercial loans and lines of credit, deposits, cash management, payment solutions, card services, capital market products, international trade finance, letters of credit, foreign exchange management services, and loan syndication services for small and middle market businesses, multinational corporations, and governmental entities. The Retail Bank segment provides personal financial services, such as consumer lending, consumer deposit gathering, and mortgage loan origination; and various consumer products that include deposit accounts, installment loans, credit cards, student loans, home equity lines of credit, and residential mortgage loans. The Wealth Management segment offers products and services comprising financial planning, trust and fiduciary services, investment management and advisory, brokerage, private banking, and business transition planning services for affluents, high-net worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families, business owners, and executives, and institutional clients. The Finance segment comprises securities portfolio, and asset and liability management activities. It operates in Texas, California, Michigan, Arizona, and Florida, the United States; and Canada and Mexico. The company was formerly known as DETROITBANK Corporation and changed its name to Comerica Incorporated in July 1982. Comerica Incorporated was founded in 1849 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

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.