Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) have received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $133.69.

WTFC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $150.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial raised shares of Wintrust Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wintrust Financial news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.95, for a total value of $54,475.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,042.20. This represents a 15.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 4,213 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.31, for a total transaction of $553,209.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 206,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,088,465.14. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,178 shares of company stock worth $1,336,315 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 63.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 77.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 653 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wintrust Financial Stock Up 1.5 %

WTFC stock opened at $112.51 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Wintrust Financial has a twelve month low of $91.38 and a twelve month high of $142.04. The company’s 50 day moving average is $125.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.89. The stock has a market cap of $7.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 1.16.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.11. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 17.52% and a return on equity of 12.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.87 EPS. Research analysts expect that Wintrust Financial will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. This is a positive change from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is currently 19.40%.

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.