Stock Analysis

WSFS Financial's (NASDAQ:WSFS) Dividend Will Be $0.15

NasdaqGS:WSFS
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WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS) will pay a dividend of $0.15 on the 17th of November. This means the annual payment will be 1.7% of the current stock price, which is lower than the industry average.

Check out our latest analysis for WSFS Financial

WSFS Financial's Dividend Forecasted To Be Well Covered By Earnings

It would be nice for the yield to be higher, but we should also check if higher levels of dividend payment would be sustainable.

WSFS Financial has a long history of paying out dividends, with its current track record at a minimum of 10 years. While past records don't necessarily translate into future results, the company's payout ratio of 3.2% also shows that WSFS Financial is able to comfortably pay dividends.

Over the next 3 years, EPS is forecast to fall by 7.0%. Fortunately, analysts forecast the future payout ratio to be 14% over the same time horizon, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

historic-dividend
NasdaqGS:WSFS Historic Dividend October 27th 2023

WSFS Financial Has A Solid Track Record

The company has a sustained record of paying dividends with very little fluctuation. Since 2013, the annual payment back then was $0.16, compared to the most recent full-year payment of $0.60. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 14% a year over that time. So, dividends have been growing pretty quickly, and even more impressively, they haven't experienced any notable falls during this period.

WSFS Financial Could Grow Its Dividend

Investors who have held shares in the company for the past few years will be happy with the dividend income they have received. WSFS Financial has seen EPS rising for the last five years, at 9.5% per annum. A low payout ratio and decent growth suggests that the company is reinvesting well, and it also has plenty of room to increase the dividend over time.

WSFS Financial Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

In summary, it is good to see that the dividend is staying consistent, and we don't think there is any reason to suspect this might change over the medium term. The distributions are easily covered by earnings, and there is plenty of cash being generated as well. We should point out that the earnings are expected to fall over the next 12 months, which won't be a problem if this doesn't become a trend, but could cause some turbulence in the next year. All in all, this checks a lot of the boxes we look for when choosing an income stock.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. For example, we've picked out 1 warning sign for WSFS Financial that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.