Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) shares hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock traded as low as $89.10 and last traded at $91.50, with a volume of 228982 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTFC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial raised Wintrust Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered Wintrust Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $157.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.69.

Wintrust Financial Trading Down 4.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.25 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $121.03 and a 200-day moving average of $122.32.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.11. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 17.52%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. This is a boost from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is 19.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wintrust Financial news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.30, for a total transaction of $418,321.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 48,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,409,278.20. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.32, for a total value of $310,309.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 19,858 shares in the company, valued at $2,607,752.56. This represents a 10.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,315 in the last three months. 1.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,500 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,307,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,859 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 1.7% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,201 shares of the bank’s stock worth $673,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gitterman Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,373 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

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.