Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in Wintrust Financial Corporation dropped by 26.5% in July, totaling 1,360,000 shares as of July 31.
• Analysts have mixed forecasts for the company's stock, with price targets ranging from $132.00 to $162.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Wintrust Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.6%.

Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,360,000 shares, adecreaseof26.5% from the July 15th total of 1,850,000 shares. Approximately2.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 390,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days. Based on an average daily volume of 390,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days. Approximately2.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Wintrust Financial

In related news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 182,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,965,818.24. This represents a 7.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward J. Wehmer purchased 3,919 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.35 per share, with a total value of $103,265.65. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 3,919 shares in the company, valued at $103,265.65. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Wintrust Financial by 14.3% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 689 shares of the bank's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 19.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 600 shares of the bank's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 28.2% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 450 shares of the bank's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA increased its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 19,896 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,238,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Wintrust Financial by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,600 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,092,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 1.7%

Wintrust Financial stock traded up $2.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $136.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 145,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 437,729. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.90 and a beta of 0.85. Wintrust Financial has a 1 year low of $89.10 and a 1 year high of $142.04. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $128.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.79.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $670.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.43 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 18.06%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.32 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial will post 10.36 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 7th. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio is 18.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTFC has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $160.00 price objective (up from $141.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $157.00 price objective (up from $155.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 price objective on Wintrust Financial and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $145.77.

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.