Clearstead Advisors LLC Grows Position in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 695.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,860 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 3,375 shares during the quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Choreo LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the bank’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 2.4% in the third quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 3,730 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 20.6% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 586 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,129 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,200,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays increased their target price on Wintrust Financial from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on Wintrust Financial from $178.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen increased their target price on Wintrust Financial from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $176.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.92.

Insider Transactions at Wintrust Financial

In other news, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 3,020 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.45, for a total value of $454,359.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,987,895.85. This trade represents a 18.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzet M. Mckinney sold 500 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.96, for a total value of $74,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $492,014.88. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 13,099 shares of company stock worth $1,954,386. 1.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WTFC opened at $150.23 on Friday. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $116.57 and a fifty-two week high of $162.96. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $145.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $143.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.59 and a beta of 0.86.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.96 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $713.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $707.23 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 20.11%.The business’s revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.44%.

About Wintrust Financial

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.