Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $112.29, but opened at $106.18. Wintrust Financial shares last traded at $111.97, with a volume of 65,776 shares traded.

The bank reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.03). Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.71% and a net margin of 17.02%. The business had revenue of $615.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $623.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.53 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is currently 18.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTFC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Wintrust Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $118.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.23.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. raised its position in Wintrust Financial by 111.7% during the third quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 1,033 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Wintrust Financial by 7.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 203,285 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $22,063,000 after purchasing an additional 14,699 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC raised its position in Wintrust Financial by 16.4% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 13,725 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Wintrust Financial by 5.2% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 218,733 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,739,000 after purchasing an additional 10,789 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 2.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $106.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.97.

About Wintrust Financial

Wintrust Financial Corporation operates as a financial holding company. It operates in three segments: Community Banking, Specialty Finance, and Wealth Management. The Community Banking segment offers non-interest bearing deposits, non-brokered interest-bearing transaction accounts, and savings and domestic time deposits; home equity, consumer, and real estate loans; safe deposit facilities; and automatic teller machine (ATM), online and mobile banking, and other services.