Head to Head Comparison: WSFS Financial (WSFS) and Its Peers

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) is one of 919 public companies in the “Banks” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare WSFS Financial to related companies based on the strength of its dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, risk and profitability.

Volatility & Risk

WSFS Financial has a beta of 0.85, suggesting that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WSFS Financial’s peers have a beta of 0.61, suggesting that their average stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

88.5% of WSFS Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.8% of shares of all “Banks” companies are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of WSFS Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.7% of shares of all “Banks” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares WSFS Financial and its peers revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
WSFS Financial	$1.36 billion	$287.35 million	12.57
WSFS Financial Competitors	$37.93 billion	$2.42 billion	21.33

WSFS Financial’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than WSFS Financial. WSFS Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

WSFS Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. WSFS Financial pays out 12.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Banks” companies pay a dividend yield of 8.9% and pay out 28.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. WSFS Financial has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for WSFS Financial and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WSFS Financial	0	5	2	1	2.50
WSFS Financial Competitors	7492	30243	27843	1488	2.35

WSFS Financial currently has a consensus price target of $84.21, indicating a potential upside of 5.35%. As a group, “Banks” companies have a potential upside of 14.59%. Given WSFS Financial’s peers higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe WSFS Financial has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Profitability

This table compares WSFS Financial and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WSFS Financial	24.10%	12.27%	1.50%
WSFS Financial Competitors	15.64%	9.43%	0.93%

Summary

WSFS Financial beats its peers on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

About WSFS Financial

WSFS Financial Corporation is a bank and financial services company headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1832 as the Wilmington Savings Fund Society, it is the parent company of WSFS Bank. Through its banking and wealth management businesses, WSFS offers commercial and consumer banking, lending, mortgage services, cash management, trust and investment services, and financial planning. Its customers include individuals, businesses, and institutions. WSFS serves customers primarily in Delaware, southeastern Pennsylvania, and southern New Jersey.