WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS – Get Free Report) and Timberland Bancorp (NASDAQ:TSBK – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and profitability.
Dividends
WSFS Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Timberland Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. WSFS Financial pays out 14.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Timberland Bancorp pays out 29.7% 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. WSFS Financial has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Timberland Bancorp has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Timberland Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent recommendations for WSFS Financial and Timberland Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| WSFS Financial | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Timberland Bancorp | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
88.5% of WSFS Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.5% of Timberland Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of WSFS Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.6% of Timberland Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares WSFS Financial and Timberland Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| WSFS Financial | 22.55% | 11.23% | 1.43% |
| Timberland Bancorp | 26.22% | 11.67% | 1.54% |
Risk and Volatility
WSFS Financial has a beta of 0.76, indicating that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Timberland Bancorp has a beta of 0.32, indicating that its share price is 68% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares WSFS Financial and Timberland Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| WSFS Financial | $1.36 billion | 2.83 | $287.35 million | $5.62 | 13.17 |
| Timberland Bancorp | $114.63 million | 2.95 | $29.16 million | $3.91 | 11.05 |
WSFS Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Timberland Bancorp. Timberland 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.
Summary
WSFS Financial beats Timberland Bancorp on 9 of the 17 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 Timberland Bancorp
Timberland Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Timberland Bank that provides various community banking services in Washington. It offers various deposit products, including money market deposit, checking, and regular savings accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides one-to four-family residential, multi-family, and commercial real estate loans; and construction lending products, such as custom and owner/builder, speculative one- to four-family, commercial, multi-family, land development, and land development. In addition, it offers consumer loans comprising home equity lines of credit and second mortgage loans, automobile loans, boat loans, motorcycle loans, recreational vehicle loans, savings account loans, and unsecured loans; and commercial business loans. Timberland Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1915 and is headquartered in Hoquiam, Washington.
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