Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Cuts Stock Position in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its holdings in Wintrust Financial Corporation by 4.4%, selling 130,713 shares to maintain ownership of approximately 2.84 million shares, valued at around $319 million.
• Wintrust Financial reported $2.78 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations, and posted a revenue of $670.78 million, above the consensus estimate.
• The company plans to distribute a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 1.6%, with an ex-dividend date set for August 7th.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,837,173 shares of the bank's stock after selling 130,713 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 4.24% of Wintrust Financial worth $319,061,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Place Capital Corp grew its stake 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 last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 33.9% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the bank's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Wintrust Financial stock traded down $0.66 on Tuesday, reaching $127.96. 306,094 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 404,617. 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 twelve month low of $89.10 and a twelve month high of $142.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $127.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.81.

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

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTFC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stephens lowered their price target on Wintrust Financial from $145.00 to $132.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Hovde Group raised their price target on Wintrust Financial from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial raised their price target on Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $145.77.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In related news, insider Edward J. Wehmer purchased 3,919 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was 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 owned 3,919 shares in the company, valued at $103,265.65. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.53, for a total value of $1,965,321.26. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 182,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,965,818.24. This represents a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.