Short Interest in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) Expands By 35.1%

Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,310,000 shares, an increase of 35.1% from the January 15th total of 969,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 449,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:WTFC opened at $129.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60 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’s 50-day moving average price is $129.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.99.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.11. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 17.52%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.87 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial will post 10.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 6th. This is a positive change from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on WTFC. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Wintrust Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised Wintrust Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 4,213 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction 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 $27,088,465.14. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 19,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,607,752.56. This represents a 10.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,178 shares of company stock worth $1,336,315. 1.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $94,906,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 14.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,153,999 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $559,364,000 after acquiring an additional 637,072 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 261.4% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 698,628 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $87,126,000 after acquiring an additional 505,293 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $40,562,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 41.3% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 865,409 shares of the bank’s stock worth $107,925,000 after purchasing an additional 253,050 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.