Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 43,323 Shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC significantly increased its position in Wintrust Financial, growing its holdings by 87.3% to approximately $10.5 million in the first quarter.
• Analysts have expressed a positive outlook, with several price targets raised; Royal Bank of Canada set a new target of $158.00, reflecting an overall average target of $145.77 for the stock.
• Wintrust Financial recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.6%.

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 87.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 92,959 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 43,323 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.14% of Wintrust Financial worth $10,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Place Capital Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Wintrust Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 33.9% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the bank's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Wintrust Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 0.8%

Wintrust Financial stock traded up $0.97 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $125.82. 460,118 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 464,585. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $89.10 and a fifty-two week high of $142.04. The firm's 50 day moving average is $125.95 and its 200-day moving average is $120.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 0.85.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.19. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 12.08%. 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 company posted $2.32 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio is 18.92%.

Insider Transactions at Wintrust Financial

In related news, insider Edward J. Wehmer purchased 3,919 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.35 per share, for a total transaction of $103,265.65. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 182,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,965,818.24. The trade was a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WTFC shares. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial raised their price target on Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $162.00 target price (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $145.00 to $132.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $158.00 target price on Wintrust Financial and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $145.77.

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.