EJF Capital LLC Sells 3,587 Shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Key Points

• EJF Capital LLC reduced its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 46.0% in the first quarter, selling 3,587 shares, while other investors such as Curi RMB Capital LLC increased their positions significantly.
• The bank reported earnings of $2.78 per share for the last quarter, exceeding forecasts, and revealed a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with an annual yield of 1.5%.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Wintrust Financial, withDA Davidson setting a new target at $155.00 and Piper Sandler at $160.00, reflecting positive market sentiment.

EJF Capital LLC lessened its position in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 46.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,203 shares of the bank's stock after selling 3,587 shares during the period. EJF Capital LLC's holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Park Place Capital Corp grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on WTFC shares. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $162.00 target price (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial lifted their target price 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wintrust Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One 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 has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $147.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Edward J. Wehmer acquired 3,919 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $26.35 per share, with a total value of $103,265.65. Following the purchase, the insider owned 3,919 shares in the company, valued at $103,265.65. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $1,965,321.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 182,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $139.53. The stock had a trading volume of 438,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 353,063. The company's 50-day moving average price is $131.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.33. The company has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $89.10 and a fifty-two week high of $142.04.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $670.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $661.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.32 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 7th. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.