Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on WTFC. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $126.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Wintrust Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.69.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

Shares of WTFC stock opened at $129.61 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $129.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.46. The company has a market capitalization of $8.62 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 1.19. Wintrust Financial has a 12 month low of $91.38 and a 12 month high of $142.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Wintrust Financial will post 10.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 6th. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 4,213 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.31, for a total value of $553,209.03. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 206,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,088,465.14. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.30, for a total transaction of $418,321.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 48,814 shares in the company, valued at $6,409,278.20. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,315 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Wintrust Financial

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 63.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

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.