Earnest Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Earnest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,313,186 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $163,767,000. Earnest Partners LLC owned approximately 1.98% of Wintrust Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 4th quarter worth $94,906,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 261.4% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 698,628 shares of the bank's stock worth $87,126,000 after buying an additional 505,293 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,263,837 shares of the bank's stock worth $157,613,000 after buying an additional 337,763 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,562,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 41.3% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 865,409 shares of the bank's stock valued at $107,925,000 after acquiring an additional 253,050 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 2.9 %

NASDAQ WTFC traded up $3.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $115.91. 110,623 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 420,942. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.27 and a beta of 0.94. The business's 50 day moving average is $109.60 and its 200-day moving average is $121.69. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $89.10 and a 12-month high of $142.04.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $643.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.11 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 17.52%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on WTFC. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Wintrust Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Raymond James set a $143.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "above average" rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.54.

About Wintrust Financial

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.