Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. Raises Position in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Key Points

• Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. increased its stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation by 30.7% during the first quarter, now holding 24,042 shares valued at approximately $2.7 million.
• Wintrust Financial reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.78, exceeding analysts' estimates and showcasing a net margin of 18.06% for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, indicating a 1.5% dividend yield and a low payout ratio of 18.92%.

Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 30.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,042 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 5,650 shares during the period. Wintrust Financial comprises about 2.4% of Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd.'s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $2,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Park Place Capital Corp increased its stake in Wintrust Financial by 1,264.7% during the first quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 232 shares of the bank's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the first quarter worth $33,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the first quarter worth $36,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the first quarter worth $38,000. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the first quarter worth $47,000. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on WTFC. Truist Financial upped their target price on Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Wintrust Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $145.77.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.53, for a total transaction of $1,965,321.26. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Edward J. Wehmer purchased 3,919 shares of the firm's 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 purchase, the insider directly owned 3,919 shares in the company, valued at $103,265.65. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WTFC traded down $0.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $137.29. The stock had a trading volume of 573,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 368,581. The company has a 50 day moving average of $129.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.13. The firm has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a PE ratio of 12.99 and a beta of 0.85. 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 twelve month low of $89.10 and a twelve month high of $142.04.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $670.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.43 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 18.06%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.32 EPS. Research analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

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