JPMorgan Chase & Co. Acquires 33,398 Shares of WSFS Financial Corporation $WSFS

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,544,508 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,398 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 2.76% of WSFS Financial worth $83,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSFS. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of WSFS Financial by 7.8% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,817 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in WSFS Financial by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,437 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in WSFS Financial by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,263 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $177,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its position in WSFS Financial by 31.2% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 920 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in WSFS Financial by 5.1% during the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 4,580 shares of the bank’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. 88.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSFS has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of WSFS Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of WSFS Financial from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $71.00 price target (up previously from $66.00) on shares of WSFS Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of WSFS Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.00.

WSFS Financial Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of WSFS opened at $65.36 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. WSFS Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $42.44 and a 52 week high of $71.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.86 and a 200-day moving average of $57.10.

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

WSFS Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Shari Kruzinski sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.10, for a total transaction of $70,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,033,274. This trade represents 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP James J. Wechsler sold 450 shares of WSFS Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.89, for a total transaction of $31,450.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $403,754.53. This trade represents a 7.23% 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 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.21% of the company’s stock.

WSFS Financial 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.