Trustmark (NASDAQ:TRMK) & Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Head to Head Survey

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) and Trustmark (NASDAQ:TRMK) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Wintrust Financial and Trustmark”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Wintrust Financial	$2.86 billion	3.58	$823.84 million	$12.45	12.22
Trustmark	$1.12 billion	2.43	$224.13 million	$3.94	11.92

Wintrust Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Trustmark. Trustmark is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Wintrust Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Wintrust Financial and Trustmark’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Wintrust Financial	20.72%	13.37%	1.28%
Trustmark	20.75%	10.69%	1.20%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Wintrust Financial and Trustmark, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Wintrust Financial	0	4	9	0	2.69
Trustmark	0	5	1	1	2.43

Wintrust Financial presently has a consensus target price of $177.77, suggesting a potential upside of 16.83%. Trustmark has a consensus target price of $46.12, suggesting a potential downside of 1.82%. Given Wintrust Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Wintrust Financial is more favorable than Trustmark.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

93.5% of Wintrust Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.6% of Trustmark shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of Wintrust Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Trustmark shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Wintrust Financial has a beta of 0.84, meaning that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Trustmark has a beta of 0.64, meaning that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Wintrust Financial pays an annual dividend of $2.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Trustmark pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Wintrust Financial pays out 17.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Trustmark pays out 25.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Wintrust Financial has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years and Trustmark has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Summary

Wintrust Financial beats Trustmark on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. It also engages in the retail origination and purchase of residential mortgages; and provision of lending, deposits, and treasury management services to condominium, homeowner, and community associations, as well as asset-based lending for middle-market companies. In addition, this segment offers loan and deposit services to mortgage brokerage companies; lending to restaurant franchisees; direct leasing; small business administration loans; commercial mortgages and construction loans; and financial solutions. It provides personal and commercial banking services primarily to individuals, small to mid-sized businesses, local governmental units, and institutional clients. The Specialty Finance segment offers commercial and life insurance premiums financing for businesses and individuals; accounts receivable financing, value-added, and out-sourced administrative services; other specialty finance services; equipment financing through structured loan and lease products; and property and casualty premium financing; as well as data processing of payrolls, billing, and cash management services to temporary staffing industry. The Wealth Management segment provides wealth management services, such as trust and investment, asset management, tax-deferred exchange, securities brokerage, and retirement plan services. Wintrust Financial Corporation was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois.

About Trustmark

Trustmark Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Trustmark National Bank that provides banking and other financial solutions to individuals and corporate institutions in the United States. The company operates through three segments: General Banking, Wealth Management, and Insurance. It offers checking, savings, and money market accounts; certificates of deposits and individual retirement accounts; financing for commercial and industrial projects, income-producing commercial real estate, owner-occupied real estate, and construction and land development; and installment and real estate loans, and lines of credit, as well as treasury management services. The company also provides mortgage banking services, including construction financing, production of conventional and government-insured mortgages, and secondary marketing and mortgage servicing. In addition, it provides wealth management and trust services, such as administration of personal trusts and estates; management of investment accounts for individuals, employee benefit plans, and charitable foundations; and corporate trust and institutional custody, securities brokerage, financial and estate planning, retirement plan, and investment management services. Further, the company offers business insurance products and services for medical professionals, construction, manufacturing, hospitality, real estate, and group life and health plans; and life and health insurance, and personal line policies for individual customers. Trustmark Corporation was founded in 1889 and is headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi.