Vestcor Inc Acquires New Position in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc has acquired 4,207 shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: WTFC), valued at approximately $473,000, in Q1 according to a recent SEC filing.
• Wintrust Financial recently reported a record earnings per share of $2.78, exceeding analyst expectations of $2.59, along with revenues of approximately $670.78 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, which translates to an annualized dividend of $2.00 and a yield of 1.6%.

Vestcor Inc bought a new position in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,207 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $473,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WTFC. Earnest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $163,767,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,263,837 shares of the bank's stock worth $157,613,000 after purchasing an additional 337,763 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,165,898 shares of the bank's stock worth $145,443,000 after purchasing an additional 10,172 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,098,706 shares of the bank's stock worth $137,020,000 after purchasing an additional 29,967 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 55.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 897,932 shares of the bank's stock worth $111,981,000 after acquiring an additional 320,954 shares during the period. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTFC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $160.00 price objective (up from $141.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $145.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wintrust Financial news, 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 purchased at an average price of $26.35 per share, for a total transaction of $103,265.65. Following the purchase, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 transaction of $1,965,321.26. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly 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. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WTFC traded down $1.50 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $123.03. The stock had a trading volume of 158,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 447,445. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $126.15 and a 200-day moving average of $120.30. 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 company has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.85. 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 released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $670.78 million during 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 quarter last year, the business earned $2.32 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

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

Wintrust Financial 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.