Norges Bank Takes Position in WSFS Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WSFS)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in WSFS Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WSFS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 616,887 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $32,775,000. Norges Bank owned 1.05% of WSFS Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSFS. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of WSFS Financial by 2,500.0% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 572 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in WSFS Financial during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in WSFS Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in WSFS Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $84,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of WSFS Financial by 68.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,885 shares of the bank’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172 shares in the last quarter. 88.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSFS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of WSFS Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of WSFS Financial from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.75.

WSFS Financial Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of WSFS Financial stock opened at $46.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.83. WSFS Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $41.33 and a 52 week high of $62.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $53.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.71 billion, a PE ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.90.

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.13. WSFS Financial had a net margin of 18.77% and a return on equity of 10.30%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that WSFS Financial Co. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WSFS Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. WSFS Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Rodger Levenson sold 7,199 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.20, for a total value of $397,384.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,881,456. This represents a 4.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

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.