Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.47 EPS

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The bank reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.47, Briefing.com reports. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 17.86% and a return on equity of 13.09%. The business had revenue of $604.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Wintrust Financial Stock Up 2.1 %

Wintrust Financial stock traded up $2.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $97.31. 384,752 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 372,738. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The business’s 50 day moving average is $98.18 and its 200 day moving average is $90.73. Wintrust Financial has a 52 week low of $58.12 and a 52 week high of $105.29. The company has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 1.21.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 7th. This is a positive change from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTFC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $116.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $105.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Wintrust Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $112.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wintrust Financial

In other news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 588 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.88, for a total value of $57,553.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,410 shares in the company, valued at $333,770.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.88, for a total value of $57,553.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $333,770.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Edward J. Wehmer sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.36, for a total value of $943,920.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 177,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,599,040.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WTFC. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 3.9% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,802 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,095,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,475 shares of the bank’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 16,809 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,562,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 33.4% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 36,861 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,425,000 after purchasing an additional 9,235 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 10.5% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 20,892 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,941,000 after purchasing an additional 1,992 shares during the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wintrust Financial Company Profile

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.