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

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Wintrust Financial from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial raised Wintrust Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.00.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ WTFC opened at $136.92 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Wintrust Financial has a 1-year low of $89.68 and a 1-year high of $142.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.10 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34 and a beta of 1.20.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last posted 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 net margin of 16.52% and a return on equity of 11.99%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Wintrust Financial will post 10.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 value of $182,330.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,687,604.04. This represents a 9.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 4,099 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.63, for a total value of $473,967.37. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 42,311 shares in the company, valued at $4,892,420.93. This represents a 8.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,198 shares of company stock valued at $2,445,314 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the third quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 77.9% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 653 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Wintrust Financial

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.