Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens restated an overweight rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup upped their target price on Wintrust Financial from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Wintrust Financial from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $111.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Wintrust Financial in a report on Friday, March 8th. They set an overweight rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $113.33.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

Wintrust Financial stock opened at $95.30 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.86 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. Wintrust Financial has a 52 week low of $58.12 and a 52 week high of $105.29.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The bank reported $2.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.47. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 13.29% and a net margin of 17.86%. The company had revenue of $604.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Wintrust Financial will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 7th. This is a boost from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is presently 18.61%.

Insider Transactions at Wintrust Financial

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 106.2% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 365 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 120.8% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 351 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Wintrust Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.