Stephens Reiterates "Overweight" Rating for Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Stephens reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) in a report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $110.00 price target on the bank's stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on WTFC. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $105.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Wedbush reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $112.83.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WTFC traded down $1.80 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $94.46. 918,788 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 411,812. Wintrust Financial has a fifty-two week low of $58.12 and a fifty-two week high of $105.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a PE ratio of 9.86 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.51.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The bank reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.42 by ($0.55). Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 13.23%. The business had revenue of $570.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $578.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.23 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Wintrust Financial will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 7th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.79%.

Insider Transactions at Wintrust Financial

In other news, insider Edward J. Wehmer sold 9,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.36, for a total transaction of $943,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 177,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,599,040.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 588 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.88, for a total value of $57,553.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $333,770.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward J. Wehmer sold 9,500 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.36, for a total transaction of $943,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 177,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,599,040.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.47% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Wintrust Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 61.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 32,210 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,432,000 after purchasing an additional 12,243 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 24.6% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 344,631 shares of the bank's stock worth $26,020,000 after acquiring an additional 68,042 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 13.4% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 644,050 shares of the bank's stock worth $48,549,000 after acquiring an additional 75,994 shares in the last quarter. Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the second quarter worth $1,133,000. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the third quarter worth $476,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company's stock.

About Wintrust Financial

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.