AQR Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation by 19.8%, holding 79,874 shares valued at approximately $8.85 million.
• Wintrust Financial recently posted earnings of $2.78 per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $2.59, with quarterly revenues of $670.78 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.5%, with a payout ratio of 18.92%.

AQR Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 19.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 79,874 shares of the bank's stock after selling 19,687 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Wintrust Financial worth $8,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTFC. Park Place Capital Corp raised its position in Wintrust Financial by 1,264.7% in the first quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 232 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Wintrust Financial in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial during the first quarter worth about $38,000. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Edward J. Wehmer purchased 3,919 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.35 per share, for a total transaction of $103,265.65. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 3,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $103,265.65. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.53, for a total transaction of $1,965,321.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 182,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,965,818.24. This trade represents a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

WTFC traded down $0.90 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $132.76. 356,999 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 377,036. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $89.10 and a 1-year high of $142.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $131.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.87.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $670.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.43 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 12.08%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Wintrust Financial's payout ratio is presently 18.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WTFC shares. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $162.00 price target (up from $145.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $147.31.

Wintrust Financial Company 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.