Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Makes New $2.24 Million Investment in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation, purchasing 19,907 shares valued at approximately $2.24 million.
• Insiders have been active, with insider Edward J. Wehmer buying 3,919 shares while COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares, indicating varying levels of confidence among company executives.
• The bank recently reported quarterly earnings with an EPS of $2.78, surpassing estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, reflecting a 1.6% yield.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 19,907 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $2,239,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its position in Wintrust Financial by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 19,896 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,238,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Wintrust Financial by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,600 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,092,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Wintrust Financial by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,098 shares of the bank's stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Wintrust Financial by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 19,055 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. increased its stake in Wintrust Financial by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 7,646 shares of the bank's stock worth $860,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ WTFC traded down $0.1150 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $128.5050. 55,320 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 440,575. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $89.10 and a 52 week high of $142.04. The company has a market cap of $8.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $127.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.75.

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. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 18.06%.The company had revenue of $670.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Wintrust Financial's payout ratio is currently 18.92%.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In other news, insider Edward J. Wehmer purchased 3,919 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $26.35 per share, for a total transaction of $103,265.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $103,265.65. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on WTFC. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. DA Davidson lifted 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. Stephens reduced their target price on Wintrust Financial from $145.00 to $132.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $162.00 target price (up from $145.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $145.77.

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.