Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC Shares Bought by Inspire Investing LLC

Key Points

• Inspire Investing LLC significantly increased its stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation by 591.8% during the first quarter, owning a total of 22,254 shares valued at approximately $2.5 million.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Wintrust Financial, with Piper Sandler raising its price objective to $160.00 and Barclays assigning a target of $162.00.
• Wintrust Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, yielding 1.5%, and reported earnings per share of $2.78, surpassing estimates by $0.19.

Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 591.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,254 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 19,037 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC's holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $2,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Park Place Capital Corp lifted 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the first quarter worth $38,000. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WTFC traded up $1.81 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $134.57. The company had a trading volume of 90,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 435,613. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $89.10 and a fifty-two week high of $142.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $131.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.87.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $670.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.43 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 12.08%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th were issued 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 is currently 18.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on WTFC shares. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $160.00 price target (up from $141.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $157.00 target price (up previously from $155.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $147.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wintrust Financial news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of the business'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 transaction of $1,965,321.26. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 182,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,965,818.24. The trade was a 7.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward J. Wehmer purchased 3,919 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.35 per share, with a total value of $103,265.65. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 3,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,265.65. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by 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.