Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Acquires New Shares in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 106,415 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $14,094,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Wintrust Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 5.4% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,992,906 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $263,940,000 after buying an additional 102,833 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,442,018 shares of the bank’s stock worth $190,981,000 after acquiring an additional 8,048 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,300,234 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $172,204,000 after acquiring an additional 75,155 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,229,858 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $152,478,000 after acquiring an additional 101,134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,071,763 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $141,944,000 after acquiring an additional 15,044 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.16, for a total transaction of $365,253.84. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,724,130.08. The trade was a 11.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen M. Boege sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.38, for a total transaction of $731,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,349,613.54. This represents a 17.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,662 shares of company stock worth $1,705,730. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

WTFC opened at $130.72 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $146.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 0.85. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $89.10 and a 12-month high of $162.96.

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

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 19.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on WTFC. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. DA Davidson increased their price target on Wintrust Financial from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $167.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.31.

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.