Emerald Investment Advisers LLC Takes $13.17 Million Position in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Emerald Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 81,946 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $13,170,000. Wintrust Financial accounts for about 0.9% of Emerald Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Emerald Investment Advisers LLC owned about 0.12% of Wintrust Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WTFC. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,437,000. F m Investments LLC grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 61.6% during the fourth quarter. F m Investments LLC now owns 70,857 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,907,000 after purchasing an additional 27,013 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 559,762 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $78,266,000 after purchasing an additional 102,798 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in Wintrust Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,287,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Wintrust Financial by 1,239.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,796 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,612,000 after buying an additional 17,393 shares during the period. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 13,515 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.77, for a total transaction of $2,199,836.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 166,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,092,903.73. This represents a 7.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WTFC opened at $152.67 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s fifty day moving average is $159.79 and its 200-day moving average is $151.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $119.61 and a 12 month high of $167.21.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The bank reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $738.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $735.36 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 20.72% and a return on equity of 13.37%. Wintrust Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.78 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is currently 17.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Brean Capital lowered Wintrust Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.77.

Wintrust Financial Company Profile

Wintrust Financial Corporation is a Chicago?area bank holding company headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois. Through its primary subsidiary, Wintrust Bank, the company operates a network of community banks serving metropolitan Chicago and select markets in southeastern Wisconsin. These locally branded banks provide personalized commercial and consumer banking solutions tailored to small and mid?size businesses, professionals, and individual clients.

The firm’s core offerings include deposit products, commercial and residential lending, treasury management, and mortgage banking services.