Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) versus WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) Financial Survey

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) and Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and risk.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WSFS Financial	23.34%	11.71%	1.47%
Associated Banc	19.66%	10.64%	1.12%

Dividends

WSFS Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Associated Banc pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. WSFS Financial pays out 13.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Associated Banc pays out 33.6% 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 Associated Banc has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Associated Banc is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

88.5% of WSFS Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.0% of Associated Banc shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of WSFS Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Associated Banc shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

WSFS Financial has a beta of 0.84, meaning that its stock price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Associated Banc has a beta of 0.8, meaning that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for WSFS Financial and Associated Banc, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WSFS Financial	0	5	3	0	2.38
Associated Banc	0	6	6	0	2.50

WSFS Financial presently has a consensus price target of $84.07, suggesting a potential upside of 11.52%. Associated Banc has a consensus price target of $32.00, suggesting a potential upside of 11.56%. Given Associated Banc’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Associated Banc is more favorable than WSFS Financial.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares WSFS Financial and Associated Banc”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) 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	$5.98	12.61
Associated Banc	$1.60 billion	3.38	$474.78 million	$2.86	10.03

Associated Banc has higher revenue and earnings than WSFS Financial. Associated Banc 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 Associated Banc 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 Associated Banc

Associated Banc-Corp, a bank holding company, provides various banking and nonbanking products to individuals and businesses in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota. The company offers lending solutions, including commercial loans and lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, construction loans, letters of credit, leasing, asset based lending and equipment finance, loan syndications products, residential mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, personal and installment loans, auto finance and business loans, and business lines of credit. It also provides deposit and cash management solutions, such as commercial checking and interest-bearing deposit products, cash vault and night depository services, liquidity solutions, payables and receivables solutions, and information services; specialized financial services, such as interest rate risk management and foreign exchange solutions; fiduciary services, such as administration of pension, profit-sharing and other employee benefit plans, fiduciary and corporate agency services, and institutional asset management services; and investable funds solutions, including savings, money market deposit accounts, IRA accounts, CDs, fixed and variable annuities, full-service, discount, and online investment brokerage; investment advisory services; and trust and investment management accounts. In addition, the company offers deposit and transactional solutions, including checking, credit, debit and pre-paid cards, online banking and bill pay; and money transfer services. Associated Banc-Corp was founded in 1861 and is headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin.