WSFS Financial Corporation $WSFS Stock: Pzena Investment Management LLC Lowers Position

Pzena Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 864,585 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 23,911 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.69% of WSFS Financial worth $65,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in WSFS Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $576,695,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of WSFS Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $49,574,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of WSFS Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $40,024,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in WSFS Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,722,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in WSFS Financial by 64.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 427,481 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,983,000 after purchasing an additional 166,837 shares in the last quarter. 88.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael Donahue sold 3,247 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total value of $258,006.62. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $913,392.70. This represents a 22.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WSFS shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of WSFS Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. DA Davidson set a $83.00 price target on shares of WSFS Financial and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of WSFS Financial from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective (up from $89.00) on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Stephens cut WSFS Financial from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $87.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.21.

WSFS Financial Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ:WSFS opened at $81.08 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.70 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $77.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. WSFS Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $51.40 and a 52 week high of $82.94.

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.13. WSFS Financial had a net margin of 24.10% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The firm had revenue of $287.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.82 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that WSFS Financial Corporation will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WSFS Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 6th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 6th. WSFS Financial’s payout ratio is presently 12.58%.

WSFS Financial Profile

WSFS Financial Corporation is the financial holding company for WSFS Bank, a full-service community banking institution headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1832, WSFS is one of the oldest and largest locally managed banks in the Delaware Valley.

WSFS Bank provides a range of banking services for individuals, families, businesses and institutions. Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, consumer lending, residential mortgages, commercial loans, treasury and cash-management services, and online and mobile banking.