Pacer Advisors Inc. Purchases New Position in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,867 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,174,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $87,418,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 539.2% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 594,711 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,881,000 after purchasing an additional 501,669 shares during the period. Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $44,085,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 16.0% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 936,834 shares of the bank’s stock worth $116,149,000 after purchasing an additional 129,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the second quarter valued at $15,002,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ:WTFC opened at $139.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business’s 50 day moving average is $134.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.81. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $89.10 and a 52 week high of $144.70. The company has a market cap of $9.36 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 0.88.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The bank reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.82% and a net margin of 18.85%.The business had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter. On average, analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 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 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 6th. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 18.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on WTFC. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $158.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on Wintrust Financial from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Wintrust Financial from $159.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.00.

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.