Head to Head Survey: Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) versus WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS)

Provident Financial (NASDAQ:PROV) and WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, risk, earnings and dividends.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Provident Financial and WSFS Financial”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Provident Financial	$39.23 million	2.53	$6.26 million	$0.90	17.01
WSFS Financial	$1.06 billion	2.89	$263.67 million	$4.85	11.51

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

Volatility & Risk

Provident Financial has a beta of 0.42, indicating that its stock price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WSFS Financial has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Provident Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. WSFS Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Provident Financial pays out 62.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. WSFS Financial pays out 14.0% 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. WSFS Financial has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Provident Financial	10.04%	4.69%	0.48%
WSFS Financial	20.44%	10.60%	1.36%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Provident Financial and WSFS Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Provident Financial	1	2	0	0	1.67
WSFS Financial	0	2	4	0	2.67

Provident Financial currently has a consensus price target of $16.00, suggesting a potential upside of 4.54%. WSFS Financial has a consensus price target of $66.25, suggesting a potential upside of 18.71%. Given WSFS Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe WSFS Financial is more favorable than Provident Financial.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

71.3% of Provident Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.5% of WSFS Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 11.5% of Provident Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of WSFS Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

WSFS Financial beats Provident Financial on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Provident Financial

Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. operates as the holding company for Provident Savings Bank, F.S.B. that provides community banking services to consumers and small to mid-sized businesses in the Inland Empire region of Southern California. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time deposits; and loan portfolio consists of single-family, multi-family, commercial real estate, construction, mortgage, commercial business, and consumer loans. It also offers investment services comprising the sale of investment products, such as annuities and mutual funds; and trustee services for real estate transactions. The company operates through full-service banking offices in Riverside County and San Bernardino County. Provident Financial Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in Riverside, California.

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.