Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate WTFC a "Moderate Buy": 14 analysts cover the stock (10 buys, 3 holds, 1 strong buy) with an average 12‑month price target of about $163.62.
• Quarterly results beat expectations: Wintrust reported $3.15 EPS vs. $2.93 expected and $714.26M revenue vs. $700.85M, with a 19.48% net margin and 12.95% ROE; analysts forecast ~10.36 EPS for the fiscal year.
• Dividend raised amid insider selling and heavy institutional ownership: The quarterly dividend was increased to $0.55 ($2.20 annualized, 1.5% yield) while insiders sold ~11,662 shares (~$1.7M) in the last 90 days, and institutions own about 93.48% of the stock with several large funds adding positions.

Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $163.6154.

Several analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $167.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WTFC stock opened at $145.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $9.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 0.86. The company's 50 day moving average price is $143.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.21. Wintrust Financial has a 52 week low of $99.71 and a 52 week high of $162.96.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $3.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $714.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $700.85 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 12.95%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.63 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Wintrust Financial will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.30%.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In other news, insider David Eric Lee sold 558 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.42, for a total transaction of $82,260.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,371,250.70. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen M. Boege sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.38, for a total transaction of $731,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,883 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,349,613.54. This represents a 17.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,662 shares of company stock worth $1,705,730. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WTFC. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $111,924,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the third quarter worth $90,187,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $59,287,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 417.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 506,766 shares of the bank's stock valued at $67,116,000 after acquiring an additional 408,925 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 491.6% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 254,329 shares of the bank's stock valued at $35,560,000 after acquiring an additional 211,338 shares during the period. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Wintrust Financial

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.