SG Americas Securities LLC Acquires 29,386 Shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 132.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 51,637 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 29,386 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $7,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 75.3% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 312 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WTFC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $176.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays raised their target price on Wintrust Financial from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Wintrust Financial from $167.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.62.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:WTFC opened at $133.55 on Tuesday. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $89.10 and a 1 year high of $162.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $145.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $8.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 0.85.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $700.85 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.63 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. This is a boost from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is presently 19.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wintrust Financial

In other news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,291 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.05, for a total value of $480,650.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,725,456.45. This trade represents a 6.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 314 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.43, for a total transaction of $45,665.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $283,152.21. This represents a 13.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,662 shares of company stock worth $1,705,730. 1.01% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wintrust Financial 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.