WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS – Get Free Report) and SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
88.5% of WSFS Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.8% of SmartFinancial shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of WSFS Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.8% of SmartFinancial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current recommendations for WSFS Financial and SmartFinancial, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| WSFS Financial | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2.50 |
| SmartFinancial | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3.00 |
Profitability
This table compares WSFS Financial and SmartFinancial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| WSFS Financial | 21.25% | 11.96% | 1.37% |
| SmartFinancial | 11.90% | 7.67% | 0.72% |
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares WSFS Financial and SmartFinancial’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| WSFS Financial | $1.27 billion | 2.15 | $269.16 million | $4.40 | 10.26 |
| SmartFinancial | $240.37 million | 1.50 | $28.59 million | $1.69 | 12.47 |
WSFS Financial has higher revenue and earnings than SmartFinancial. WSFS Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SmartFinancial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility and Risk
WSFS Financial has a beta of 1.02, indicating that its stock price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SmartFinancial has a beta of 0.69, indicating that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
WSFS Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. SmartFinancial pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. WSFS Financial pays out 13.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. SmartFinancial pays out 18.9% 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. SmartFinancial has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. SmartFinancial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Summary
WSFS Financial beats SmartFinancial on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
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.
About SmartFinancial
SmartFinancial, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for SmartBank that provides various financial services to individuals and corporate customers in Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida. It operates through Commercial Real Estate, Consumer Real Estate, Construction and Land Development, Commercial and Industrial, Leases, and Consumer and Other segments. The company offers noninterest-bearing and interest-bearing checking, interest-bearing demand, savings, money market, time deposit, individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also provides commercial and residential real estate, consumer real estate, and construction and land development loans; commercial and financial loans and leases; commercial business and mortgage loans; and direct consumer installment, educational, agriculture, and other revolving credit loans; equipment financing, heavy equipment, semis, and trailers loans and leases to small and mid-size companies; letters of credit; and overdraft facilities. In addition, the company offers wealth management, insurance, mortgage origination, and internet and mobile banking services. SmartFinancial, Inc. is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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