Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $165.3077.

Several equities analysts recently commented on WTFC shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $161.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Wintrust Financial from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. DA Davidson increased their price target on Wintrust Financial from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Wintrust Financial from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th.

Wintrust Financial Stock Down 0.5%

NASDAQ WTFC opened at $132.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Wintrust Financial has a 52 week low of $89.10 and a 52 week high of $162.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average of $146.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.64.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last announced 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 business had revenue of $714.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $700.85 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 12.95%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.63 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Wintrust Financial will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is 19.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wintrust Financial

In other news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 314 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $283,152.21. The trade was a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.16, for a total transaction of $365,253.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,724,130.08. The trade was a 11.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,662 shares of company stock valued at $1,705,730. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 7,012 shares of the bank’s stock worth $980,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 5,154 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $721,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,269 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,952 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,570,000. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its stake in Wintrust Financial by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,524 shares of the bank’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wintrust Financial Company 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.