Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Wintrust Financial has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 13 brokerages, with 10 buy ratings, 2 hold ratings, and 1 strong buy. The average 1-year price target is about $168.92.
• The company beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting EPS of $3.22 versus the expected $2.96, while revenue of $713.17 million also came in slightly ahead of estimates. Revenue rose 10.9% year over year.
• Wintrust Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, or $2.20 annually, for a 1.5% yield. The company also saw recent insider share sales, while institutional investors continue to hold the vast majority of the stock.

Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $168.9167.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Wintrust Financial from $178.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $188.00 price objective (up from $184.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:WTFC opened at $151.64 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $142.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $141.29. The company has a market capitalization of $10.23 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Wintrust Financial has a 52-week low of $114.73 and a 52-week high of $162.96.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.96 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $713.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $707.23 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 20.11%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial will post 13.07 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wintrust Financial news, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 3,020 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.45, for a total transaction of $454,359.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,213 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,987,895.85. This trade represents a 18.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzet M. Mckinney sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.96, for a total value of $74,480.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,303 shares of the company's stock, valued at $492,014.88. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,099 shares of company stock valued at $1,954,386. 1.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wintrust Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTFC. Choreo LLC raised its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the bank's stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 976 shares of the bank's stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,545 shares of the bank's stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the bank's stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 8,914 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,246,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wintrust Financial Company Profile

Wintrust Financial Corporation is a Chicago‐area bank holding company headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois. Through its primary subsidiary, Wintrust Bank, the company operates a network of community banks serving metropolitan Chicago and select markets in southeastern Wisconsin. These locally branded banks provide personalized commercial and consumer banking solutions tailored to small and mid‐size businesses, professionals, and individual clients.

The firm's core offerings include deposit products, commercial and residential lending, treasury management, and mortgage banking services.

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