Contrasting Carver Bancorp (NASDAQ:CARV) & WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS)

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) and Carver Bancorp (NASDAQ:CARV) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares WSFS Financial and Carver Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WSFS Financial	$1.40 billion	2.15	$263.67 million	$4.85	11.39
Carver Bancorp	$22.74 million	0.26	-$13.74 million	($2.49)	-0.47

WSFS Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Carver Bancorp. Carver Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than WSFS Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

88.5% of WSFS Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 18.2% of Carver Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of WSFS Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Carver Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

WSFS Financial has a beta of 0.83, suggesting that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Carver Bancorp has a beta of 1.5, suggesting that its share price is 50% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares WSFS Financial and Carver Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WSFS Financial	20.44%	10.60%	1.36%
Carver Bancorp	-34.89%	-171.55%	-1.82%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for WSFS Financial and Carver Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WSFS Financial	0	3	4	0	2.57
Carver Bancorp	1	0	0	0	1.00

WSFS Financial currently has a consensus price target of $65.40, suggesting a potential upside of 18.39%. Given WSFS Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe WSFS Financial is more favorable than Carver Bancorp.

Summary

WSFS Financial beats Carver Bancorp on 12 of the 14 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 Carver Bancorp

Carver Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Carver Federal Savings Bank that provides consumer and commercial banking services for consumers, businesses, non-profit organizations, and governmental and quasi-governmental agencies primarily in New York. It accepts various deposit products, including demand, savings, and time deposits; passbook and statement accounts, and certificates of deposit; and individual retirement accounts. The company provides lending products, such as one-to-four family residential, multifamily real estate, and commercial real estate lending; and construction, business and small business administration, and consumer and other loans. In addition, it offers other consumer and commercial banking products and services, including debit cards, online account opening and banking, online bill pay, and telephone banking, as well as check cashing, wire transfer, bill payment, reloadable prepaid card, and money order services. Carver Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in New York, New York.