WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

WSFS has been the topic of a number of other reports. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of WSFS Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of WSFS Financial from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of WSFS Financial in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $74.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Brean Capital started coverage on WSFS Financial in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $74.50 price target for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.58.

WSFS Financial Stock Up 0.9%

WSFS stock opened at $66.03 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of 12.95 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. WSFS Financial has a twelve month low of $42.44 and a twelve month high of $71.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $64.86 and its 200-day moving average is $58.49.

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.17. WSFS Financial had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 21.14%.The business had revenue of $90.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $267.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. WSFS Financial’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that WSFS Financial will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WSFS Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. WSFS Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WSFS Financial

In other WSFS Financial news, EVP Shari Kruzinski sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.10, for a total value of $70,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,740 shares in the company, valued at $1,033,274. The trade was a 6.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Arthur J. Bacci sold 2,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.51, for a total transaction of $141,372.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 26,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,859,066.66. The trade was a 7.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 3,455 shares of company stock worth $242,923 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of WSFS Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of WSFS Financial by 102.6% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,347 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 5,240 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in WSFS Financial by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,835 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after acquiring an additional 1,176 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in WSFS Financial by 230.4% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 72,726 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,772,000 after acquiring an additional 50,717 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in WSFS Financial during the first quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in WSFS Financial by 579.0% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 117,472 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,093,000 after purchasing an additional 100,171 shares during the last quarter. 88.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.