Wells Fargo & Company Upgrades Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) to "Hold"

Key Points

• Wells Fargo upgraded Wintrust Financial to “Hold,” while analysts overall maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $176.50.
• Wintrust reported quarterly EPS of $3.30, exceeding estimates of $3.15, while revenue rose 10.1% year over year to $738.63 million.
• Shares opened at $144.32, below the $176.50 consensus target; institutional investors own approximately 93.48% of the company.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler set a $186.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Truist Financial increased their target price on Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Wintrust Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.50.

Wintrust Financial Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Wintrust Financial stock opened at $144.32 on Thursday. Wintrust Financial has a 1 year low of $119.61 and a 1 year high of $167.21. The business has a 50-day moving average of $155.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $151.09. The company has a market capitalization of $9.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The bank reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $738.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $735.36 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 13.37% and a net margin of 20.72%.Wintrust Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Wintrust Financial will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO David Dykstra sold 13,515 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.77, for a total value of $2,199,836.55. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 166,449 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,092,903.73. The trade was a 7.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 72.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 240 shares of the bank's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Company Profile

Wintrust Financial Corporation NASDAQ: WTFC is a financial services company and bank holding company headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois. Founded in 1991, the company operates a network of community banks that serve individuals, families, businesses and institutions.

Wintrust's banking operations provide deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage financing, treasury management, payment services and other traditional banking products. Through specialized subsidiaries and affiliated businesses, the company also offers wealth management, investment services, insurance premium financing, equipment leasing and related financial solutions.

The company primarily serves communities in the greater Chicago metropolitan area and has expanded its banking presence into surrounding Midwestern markets, including parts of Wisconsin and Indiana.

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