DA Davidson Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) Stock

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) had its price objective hoisted by equities research analysts at DA Davidson from $70.00 to $76.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the bank’s stock. DA Davidson’s target price indicates a potential upside of 5.70% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on WSFS. UBS Group set a $76.00 target price on shares of WSFS Financial in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on WSFS Financial from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $81.00 target price (up from $79.00) on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Monday. Finally, Brean Capital began coverage on WSFS Financial in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $74.50 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WSFS Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.79.

WSFS Financial Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of WSFS Financial stock traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $71.90. The company had a trading volume of 201,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 433,353. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50 day moving average of $66.08 and a 200 day moving average of $60.25. WSFS Financial has a 52-week low of $49.92 and a 52-week high of $72.84.

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $90.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $267.36 million. WSFS Financial had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 22.55%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that WSFS Financial will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at WSFS Financial

In other WSFS Financial news, EVP James J. Wechsler sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,777 shares in the company, valued at $403,754.53. The trade was a 7.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Arthur J. Bacci sold 2,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.51, for a total value of $141,372.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 26,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,859,066.66. This trade represents a 7.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 3,455 shares of company stock worth $242,923 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of WSFS Financial by 92.4% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 431 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. Sippican Capital Advisors boosted its position in shares of WSFS Financial by 4.2% during the first quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 11,089 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $726,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of WSFS Financial by 83.6% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 13,828 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $905,000 after buying an additional 6,297 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of WSFS Financial by 11.3% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 8,945 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $586,000 after buying an additional 909 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of WSFS Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,551,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.49% of the company’s stock.

About WSFS Financial

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.