Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group opened a new stake in Wintrust Financial, buying 67,585 shares valued at about $9.45 million in the fourth quarter.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on WTFC, with multiple firms recently raising price targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus rating.
• Wintrust Financial reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $3.22 versus the $2.96 estimate and revenue of $713.17 million, while also declaring a $0.55 quarterly dividend.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 67,585 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $9,450,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Wintrust Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,300,234 shares of the bank's stock worth $172,204,000 after purchasing an additional 75,155 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 73,013.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 42,406 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,616,000 after purchasing an additional 42,348 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 417.9% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 506,766 shares of the bank's stock worth $67,116,000 after acquiring an additional 408,925 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 405,599 shares of the bank's stock worth $53,718,000 after acquiring an additional 11,644 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,992,906 shares of the bank's stock worth $263,940,000 after acquiring an additional 102,833 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on WTFC. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $188.00 target price (up from $184.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $168.92.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

WTFC opened at $149.89 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.83. The company has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.86. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $114.73 and a 1 year high of $162.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.96 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $713.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $707.23 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 20.11%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. Research analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 13.07 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Wintrust Financial's payout ratio is 18.44%.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In related news, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 3,020 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.45, for a total value of $454,359.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,987,895.85. The trade was a 18.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzet M. Mckinney sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.96, for a total value of $74,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,303 shares of the company's stock, valued at $492,014.88. This trade represents a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 13,099 shares of company stock worth $1,954,386 in the last ninety days. 1.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Wintrust Financial

Wintrust Financial Corporation is a Chicago‐area bank holding company headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois. Through its primary subsidiary, Wintrust Bank, the company operates a network of community banks serving metropolitan Chicago and select markets in southeastern Wisconsin. These locally branded banks provide personalized commercial and consumer banking solutions tailored to small and mid‐size businesses, professionals, and individual clients.

The firm's core offerings include deposit products, commercial and residential lending, treasury management, and mortgage banking services.

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