Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in WSFS Financial Corporation $WSFS

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,465,792 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,423 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in WSFS Financial were worth $136,210,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of WSFS Financial by 2.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,544,508 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $83,295,000 after purchasing an additional 33,398 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its position in shares of WSFS Financial by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,055,902 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $58,328,000 after purchasing an additional 23,946 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of WSFS Financial by 2.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,005,660 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $54,235,000 after purchasing an additional 20,293 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of WSFS Financial by 14.5% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 928,413 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,069,000 after purchasing an additional 117,244 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of WSFS Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $39,193,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.49% of the company’s stock.

WSFS Financial Price Performance

WSFS stock opened at $74.04 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $70.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.23. WSFS Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $49.92 and a 12-month high of $74.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.17 and a beta of 0.76.

WSFS Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from WSFS Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. WSFS Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research downgraded WSFS Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on WSFS Financial from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group set a $76.00 price target on WSFS Financial in a research report on Monday, April 27th. 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. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $81.00 price target (up from $79.00) on shares of WSFS Financial in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.07.

WSFS Financial Company Profile

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.