Alberta Investment Management Corp Takes $11.12 Million Position in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp initiated a new position in Wintrust Financial, buying 79,550 shares worth about $11.12 million in the fourth quarter.
• Wall Street sentiment on WTFC is generally positive, with analysts assigning a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $168.92.
• Wintrust Financial reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $3.22 versus $2.96 expected and revenue of $713.17 million, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share.

Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 79,550 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $11,123,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp owned about 0.12% of Wintrust Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WTFC. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake in Wintrust Financial by 231.9% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 229 shares of the bank's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Wintrust Financial during the first quarter worth $27,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 72.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 240 shares of the bank's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTFC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Wintrust Financial from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stephens assumed coverage on Wintrust Financial in a report on Friday, March 27th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $168.92.

Wintrust Financial Stock Up 0.3%

WTFC stock opened at $157.19 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $149.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.57. The company has a market cap of $10.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.18 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.98. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $116.57 and a fifty-two week high of $162.96.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.96 by $0.26. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 20.11%.The firm had revenue of $713.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $707.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.44%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Suzet M. Mckinney sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.96, for a total transaction of $74,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,303 shares of the company's stock, valued at $492,014.88. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 9,579 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.82, for a total transaction of $1,425,546.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 179,810 shares in the company, valued at $26,759,324.20. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 13,099 shares of company stock worth $1,954,386 over the last three months. 1.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wintrust Financial 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WTFC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.