WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) Stock Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $58.26 and traded as high as $65.35. WSFS Financial shares last traded at $65.20, with a volume of 316,199 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSFS has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of WSFS Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Brean Capital initiated coverage on WSFS Financial in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $74.50 price target for the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $71.00 price objective (up from $66.00) on shares of WSFS Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded WSFS Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.58.

WSFS Financial Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $90.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $267.36 million. WSFS Financial had a net margin of 21.14% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that WSFS Financial Corporation will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

WSFS Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP James J. Wechsler sold 450 shares of WSFS Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.89, for a total transaction of $31,450.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $403,754.53. The trade was a 7.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shari Kruzinski sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.10, for a total value of $70,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,033,274. This trade represents a 6.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 3,455 shares of company stock worth $242,923 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WSFS Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of WSFS Financial by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,465,792 shares of the bank’s stock worth $136,210,000 after buying an additional 32,423 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 33,398 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in WSFS Financial by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,066,591 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $58,918,000 after acquiring an additional 60,931 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its stake in WSFS Financial by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,055,902 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $58,328,000 after acquiring an additional 23,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in WSFS Financial by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 928,413 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,069,000 after acquiring an additional 117,244 shares in the last quarter. 88.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.