Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other research firms also recently commented on WTFC. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $157.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.69.

Wintrust Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

WTFC opened at $129.61 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 1.19. Wintrust Financial has a one year low of $91.38 and a one year high of $142.04. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $129.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.14. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter last year, the business earned $1.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Wintrust Financial will post 10.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Wintrust Financial

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 63.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 32.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.