Critical Comparison: NASB Financial (OTCMKTS:NASB) versus WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS)

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) and NASB Financial (OTCMKTS:NASB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Risk & Volatility

WSFS Financial has a beta of 0.76, indicating that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NASB Financial has a beta of 0.05, indicating that its share price is 95% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WSFS Financial	21.14%	10.89%	1.41%
NASB Financial	16.14%	6.84%	0.98%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

88.5% of WSFS Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of WSFS Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 47.0% of NASB Financial shares are owned 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for WSFS Financial and NASB Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WSFS Financial	0	3	4	1	2.75
NASB Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00

WSFS Financial presently has a consensus price target of $70.58, indicating a potential upside of 12.54%. Given WSFS Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe WSFS Financial is more favorable than NASB Financial.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares WSFS Financial and NASB Financial”s gross 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	2.43	$287.35 million	$5.10	12.30
NASB Financial	$178.01 million	1.60	$28.72 million	$4.03	9.80

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

Dividends

WSFS Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. NASB Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. WSFS Financial pays out 13.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. NASB Financial pays out 34.7% 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.

Summary

WSFS Financial beats NASB Financial on 16 of the 18 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 NASB Financial

NASB Financial, Inc. operates as a unitary thrift holding company for North American Savings Bank, F.S.B. that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company offers checking, savings, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts. It also mortgages and refinancing products, including conventional, veterans administration, federal housing administration, jumbo, and IRA residential real-estate loans. In addition, the company provides commercial real estate development and commercial loans, such as multifamily, retail, single-tenant, multi-tenant, office, industrial, and other loans; investment property loans; and construction and development loans. The company was founded in 1927 and is based in Grandview, Missouri.