Inspire Advisors LLC Buys New Position in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Key Points

• Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation, purchasing 5,727 shares valued at approximately $644,000.
• Wintrust Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.51%.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Wintrust Financial, with a target price of $145.77.

Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 5,727 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $644,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WTFC. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 0.5% in the first quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 19,896 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,238,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.5% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,600 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,092,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 2.0% during the first quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,098 shares of the bank's stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 1.6% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 7,646 shares of the bank's stock valued at $860,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,971 shares of the bank's stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ WTFC traded down $2.42 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $128.09. 186,454 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 449,342. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company's 50 day moving average price is $125.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.51. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $89.10 and a 12 month high of $142.04.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $670.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $661.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.32 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio is 18.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $162.00 price objective (up from $145.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $160.00 target price (up from $141.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $157.00 target price (up from $155.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $145.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wintrust Financial

In other news, insider Edward J. Wehmer bought 3,919 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.35 per share, for a total transaction of $103,265.65. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 3,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $103,265.65. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of the company'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 owned 182,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 corporate 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.