Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. Has $33.05 Million Holdings in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Key Points

• Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation by 1.1%, now owning 293,913 shares valued at approximately $33.05 million.
• Insider transactions included Edward J. Wehmer purchasing 3,919 shares for around $103,265, while COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares valued at about $1.97 million.
• Wintrust Financial's stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a current share price of $123.84 and a price target averaging $145.77 from several analysts.

Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 293,913 shares of the bank's stock after selling 3,120 shares during the quarter. Wintrust Financial makes up about 2.4% of Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.44% of Wintrust Financial worth $33,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Park Place Capital Corp grew its stake in Wintrust Financial by 1,264.7% in the 1st quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 232 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Wintrust Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Wintrust Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Wintrust Financial by 33.9% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the bank's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Wintrust Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTFC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $162.00 price target (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 price target (up from $141.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $157.00 price target (up from $155.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $145.77.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:WTFC traded up $0.55 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $127.89. 164,252 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 444,676. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $89.10 and a 1-year high of $142.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $126.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.93. 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 firm has a market cap of $8.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 0.85.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 12.08%. The firm 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 earned $2.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. Wintrust Financial's payout ratio is presently 18.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wintrust Financial news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.53, for a total value of $1,965,321.26. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 182,208 shares in the company, valued at $23,965,818.24. The trade was a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward J. Wehmer acquired 3,919 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 3,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $103,265.65. The trade was 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 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.