Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $177.7692.

Several research firms have recently commented on WTFC. Capital One Financial set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Piper Sandler set a $186.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Wintrust Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 12th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Wintrust Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st.

Wintrust Financial Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ WTFC opened at $147.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Wintrust Financial has a 12-month low of $119.61 and a 12-month high of $167.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $156.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 0.84.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The bank reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.15. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 20.72% and a return on equity of 13.37%. The company had revenue of $738.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $735.36 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.78 earnings per share. Wintrust Financial’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is presently 17.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO David Dykstra sold 13,515 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.77, for a total value of $2,199,836.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 166,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,092,903.73. This trade represents a 7.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Wintrust Financial by 15.2% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,764 shares of the bank’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $376,000. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,562 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,983,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $447,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,225 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Company Profile

Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: WTFC) is a financial services company and bank holding company headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois. Founded in 1991, the company operates a network of community banks that serve individuals, families, businesses and institutions.

Wintrust’s banking operations provide deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage financing, treasury management, payment services and other traditional banking products. Through specialized subsidiaries and affiliated businesses, the company also offers wealth management, investment services, insurance premium financing, equipment leasing and related financial solutions.

The company primarily serves communities in the greater Chicago metropolitan area and has expanded its banking presence into surrounding Midwestern markets, including parts of Wisconsin and Indiana.