Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $132.38.

WTFC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group began coverage on Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Wintrust Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 9.4 %

NASDAQ WTFC opened at $104.13 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.92. The stock has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01. Wintrust Financial has a fifty-two week low of $89.10 and a fifty-two week high of $142.04.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.11. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 17.52% and a return on equity of 12.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.87 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wintrust Financial

In other Wintrust Financial news, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.32, for a total value of $310,309.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 19,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,607,752.56. This trade represents a 10.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.95, for a total transaction of $54,475.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,042.20. This trade represents a 15.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,178 shares of company stock worth $1,336,315. 1.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 55,020 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,971,000 after acquiring an additional 2,187 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 708.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 17,327 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,880,000 after buying an additional 15,185 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the third quarter valued at $286,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,859 shares of the bank’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 3.6% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,280 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wintrust Financial Company Profile

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.