Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Increases Stake in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 33.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 63,172 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 15,930 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Wintrust Financial worth $7,878,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 63.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the bank's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $78,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 677 shares of the bank's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 920.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 684 shares of the bank's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on WTFC shares. Stephens cut their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $145.00 to $132.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "above average" rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $150.00 to $137.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James set a $143.00 price objective on Wintrust Financial and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $133.54.

Wintrust Financial Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of WTFC traded down $0.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $116.29. The company had a trading volume of 222,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 421,841. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $108.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.83. The company has a market capitalization of $7.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.81. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $89.10 and a 52 week high of $142.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $643.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.11 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 17.52% and a return on equity of 12.60%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.78%.

Wintrust Financial Profile

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.