Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $128.00.

A number of brokerages recently commented on WTFC. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group began coverage on Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $157.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson raised their target price on Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:WTFC opened at $125.93 on Thursday. Wintrust Financial has a 12-month low of $89.68 and a 12-month high of $142.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $127.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.66. The firm has a market cap of $8.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 1.18.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $615.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $623.45 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 16.52% and a return on equity of 11.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is currently 18.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 1,607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.46, for a total transaction of $182,330.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,687,604.04. This represents a 9.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 15,492 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.48, for a total transaction of $1,789,016.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 197,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,817,808.68. The trade was a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,198 shares of company stock valued at $2,445,314. Corporate insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 62.0% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 512 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $61,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 77.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 653 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in Wintrust Financial by 11.7% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 866 shares of the bank’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 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.