Comerica Bank Boosts Position in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Key Points

• Comerica Bank increased its position in Wintrust Financial Corporation by 13.2%, owning 63,733 shares worth approximately $7.17 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Analysts are optimistic about Wintrust Financial, with multiple upgrades to their ratings and price targets, the highest now set at $158.00 by Royal Bank of Canada.
• Wintrust Financial recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with $2.78 EPS against an anticipated $2.59 EPS, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share.

Comerica Bank boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 13.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 63,733 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 7,440 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank owned 0.10% of Wintrust Financial worth $7,167,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Walleye Trading LLC purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the first quarter valued at $212,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the first quarter worth about $2,225,000. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC increased its position in Wintrust Financial by 4.8% in the first quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 20,885 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,349,000 after buying an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the first quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on WTFC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Wintrust Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price target on Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $157.00 price target (up from $155.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Wintrust Financial from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $145.77.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In other news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.53, for a total value of $1,965,321.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 182,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,965,818.24. This trade represents a 7.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Edward J. Wehmer acquired 3,919 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.35 per share, with a total value of $103,265.65. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 3,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,265.65. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ WTFC opened at $137.71 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.22 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $89.10 and a 1-year high of $142.04.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $670.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $661.43 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 18.06%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.32 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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