Is WSFS Financial (WSFS) a Smart Long-Term Buy?

ClearBridge Investments, an investment management firm, published its “Small Cap Strategy” first quarter 2021 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. The ClearBridge Small Cap Strategy outperformed its Russell 2000 Index benchmark during the first quarter. On an absolute basis, the Strategy had losses across six of the 11 sectors in which it was invested during the quarter. The leading detractors were the consumer discretionary, IT, and financial sectors, while the leading contributors were the energy and health care sectors. Try to spend some time taking a look at the fund’s top 5 holdings to be informed about their best picks for 2022.

In its Q1 2022 investor letter, Clearbridge Investments Small Cap Strategy mentioned WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS) and explained its insights for the company. Founded in 1832, WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS)  is a Wilmington, Delaware-based financial services company with a $2.6 billion market capitalization. WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS)  delivered a -16.64% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are down by -16.31%. The stock closed at $41.78 per share on April 15, 2022.

Here is what Clearbridge Investments Small Cap Strategy has to say about WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS) in its Q1 2022 investor letter:

“We also initiated a new position in WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS), in the financials sector. A savings and loan company, WSFS Financial provides various banking services including savings accounts, loans and consumer credit products. The company has made several acquisitions in recent years that have brought it into higher growth markets such as Washington DC and provided good cost savings. We believe it is well-positioned to maintain good loan growth, despite interest rate headwinds.”

Pixabay/Public Domain

Our calculations show that WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS) fell short and didn’t make it on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS) was in 14 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to 10 funds in the previous quarter. WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS) delivered a -23.88% return in the past 3 months. You can find other investor letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2022 Q1 page.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.