Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 27.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 572,816 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 122,221 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $75,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Wintrust Financial by 75.3% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 312 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the third quarter worth $41,000. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the second quarter worth $41,000. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $176.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.31.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Wintrust Financial stock opened at $130.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $147.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.84. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $89.10 and a 52 week high of $162.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 5th. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is currently 19.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.16, for a total value of $365,253.84. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,724,130.08. This trade represents a 11.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen M. Boege sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.38, for a total transaction of $731,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,349,613.54. The trade was a 17.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,662 shares of company stock valued at $1,705,730. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wintrust Financial Company Profile

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.