Nicolet Bankshares (NASDAQ:NCBS) and WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and earnings.
Analyst Recommendations
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This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Nicolet Bankshares and WSFS Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Nicolet Bankshares | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 |
| WSFS Financial | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2.14 |
Nicolet Bankshares currently has a consensus price target of $89.33, indicating a potential upside of 16.11%. WSFS Financial has a consensus price target of $55.00, indicating a potential upside of 22.96%. Given WSFS Financial’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe WSFS Financial is more favorable than Nicolet Bankshares.
Risk and Volatility
Nicolet Bankshares has a beta of 0.69, meaning that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WSFS Financial has a beta of 1.33, meaning that its share price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Nicolet Bankshares and WSFS Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Nicolet Bankshares | 32.51% | 13.28% | 1.58% |
| WSFS Financial | 39.87% | 14.81% | 1.86% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
40.0% of Nicolet Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.2% of WSFS Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.7% of Nicolet Bankshares shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of WSFS Financial 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.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Nicolet Bankshares and WSFS Financial’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Nicolet Bankshares | $211.83 million | 3.58 | $60.12 million | $5.70 | 13.50 |
| WSFS Financial | $715.43 million | 2.97 | $114.77 million | $1.91 | 23.42 |
WSFS Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Nicolet Bankshares. Nicolet Bankshares 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 Nicolet Bankshares on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Nicolet Bankshares
Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of commercial and consumer banking services through its subsidiary. It offers lending and deposit gathering, ancillary banking-related, trust, brokerage, and other investment management products and services. The firm also delivers commercial-related and residential real estate loans. The company was founded by Robert Bruc Atwell and Michael E. Daniels on April 5, 2000 and is headquartered in Green Bay, WI.
About WSFS Financial
WSFS Financial Corp. is a savings and loan holding company, which engages in the provision of banking and financial services. It operates through the following business segments: WSFS Bank, Cash Connect, and Wealth Management. The WSFS Bank segment provides loans and other financial products to commercial and retail customers. The Cash Connect segment offers ATM vault cash, cash safe, and other cash logistics services. The Wealth Management segment focuses in array of fiduciary, investment management, credit, and deposit products to clients. The company was founded in 1832 and is headquartered in Wilmington, DE.
