Reviewing WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) & Bank of Hawaii (NYSE:BOH)

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

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares WSFS Financial and Bank of Hawaii”s 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	2.91	$287.35 million	$5.98	12.94
Bank of Hawaii	$1.07 billion	2.62	$205.90 million	$5.36	13.22

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

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, Bank of Hawaii has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its share price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

88.5% of WSFS Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.2% of Bank of Hawaii shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of WSFS Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of Bank of Hawaii shares are held 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.

Profitability

This table compares WSFS Financial and Bank of Hawaii’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%
Bank of Hawaii	21.84%	15.72%	0.98%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for WSFS Financial and Bank of Hawaii, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WSFS Financial	0	5	3	0	2.38
Bank of Hawaii	0	6	2	0	2.25

WSFS Financial currently has a consensus target price of $83.07, indicating a potential upside of 7.39%. Bank of Hawaii has a consensus target price of $85.00, indicating a potential upside of 20.00%. Given Bank of Hawaii’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Bank of Hawaii is more favorable than WSFS Financial.

Dividends

WSFS Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Bank of Hawaii pays an annual dividend of $2.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. WSFS Financial pays out 13.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bank of Hawaii pays out 52.2% 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 Bank of Hawaii has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Summary

WSFS Financial beats Bank of Hawaii on 11 of the 16 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 Bank of Hawaii

Bank of Hawaii Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Bank of Hawaii that provides various financial products and services in Hawaii, Guam, and other Pacific Islands. It operates in three segments: Consumer Banking, Commercial Banking, and Treasury and Other. The Consumer Banking segment offers checking, savings, and time deposit accounts; residential mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit, automobile loans and leases, overdraft lines of credit, installment loans, small business loans and leases, and credit cards; private and international client banking, investment, credit, and trust services to individuals and families, as well as high-net-worth individuals; investment management; institutional investment advisory services to corporations, government entities, and foundations; and brokerage offerings, including equities, mutual funds, life insurance, and annuity products. The Commercial Banking segment provides corporate banking, commercial real estate loans, commercial lease financing, auto dealer financing, and deposit products. This segment also offers commercial lending and deposit products to middle-market and large companies, and government entities; commercial real estate mortgages to investors, developers, and builders; and international banking and merchant services. The Treasury and Other segment provides corporate asset and liability management services, including interest rate risk management and foreign exchange services. Bank of Hawaii Corporation was founded in 1897 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.