Short Interest in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) Expands By 20.3%

Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,311,500 shares, an increase of 20.3% from the January 29th total of 1,920,974 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 629,191 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days. Currently, 3.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Currently, 3.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 629,191 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Wintrust Financial from $161.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $176.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.31.

Insider Activity

In other Wintrust Financial news, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,499 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.16, for a total value of $365,253.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,724,130.08. The trade was a 11.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen M. Boege sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.38, for a total transaction of $731,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,883 shares in the company, valued at $3,349,613.54. This trade represents a 17.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 11,662 shares of company stock worth $1,705,730 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Wintrust Financial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WTFC. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 231.9% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 229 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 72.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 240 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

WTFC stock opened at $143.11 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.55 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.65. Wintrust Financial has a fifty-two week low of $89.10 and a fifty-two week high of $162.96.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $714.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $700.85 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 12.95%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.63 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Wintrust Financial will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 19.30%.

About Wintrust Financial

Wintrust Financial Corporation is a Chicago‐area bank holding company headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois. Through its primary subsidiary, Wintrust Bank, the company operates a network of community banks serving metropolitan Chicago and select markets in southeastern Wisconsin. These locally branded banks provide personalized commercial and consumer banking solutions tailored to small and mid‐size businesses, professionals, and individual clients.

The firm’s core offerings include deposit products, commercial and residential lending, treasury management, and mortgage banking services.