Insider Selling: Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) EVP Sells 314 Shares of Stock

Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) EVP Jeffrey Hahnfeld sold 314 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.43, for a total transaction of $45,665.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,947 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,152.21. This trade represents a 13.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

WTFC traded up $2.64 during trading on Thursday, reaching $147.90. The stock had a trading volume of 430,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 489,503. The business has a 50-day moving average of $141.50 and a 200-day moving average of $134.57. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a one year low of $89.10 and a one year high of $155.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $9.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 0.88.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $3.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $586.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $700.85 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 19.48%.During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.63 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 5th. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.54%.

Institutional Trading of Wintrust Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Choreo LLC lifted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the bank’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Wintrust Financial by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the bank’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 14.3% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 689 shares of the bank’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Wintrust Financial by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 3,730 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $494,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 19.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 600 shares of the bank’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTFC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Wintrust Financial from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.42.

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.