Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $164.4167.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WTFC. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $167.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of 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, TD Cowen raised their target price on Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd.

Wintrust Financial Stock Up 1.8%

WTFC opened at $147.90 on Friday. Wintrust Financial has a 12 month low of $89.10 and a 12 month high of $155.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $141.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.66. The company has a market cap of $9.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 0.88.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $586.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $700.85 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 19.48%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Wintrust Financial will post 10.36 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 17.54%.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In related news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 314 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.43, for a total transaction of $45,665.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,947 shares in the company, valued at $283,152.21. This represents a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.16, for a total value of $365,253.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,724,130.08. The trade was a 11.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Choreo LLC increased its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Wintrust Financial by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 689 shares of the bank’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 3,730 shares of the bank’s stock worth $494,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 600 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

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.