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

Key Points

• Wintrust Financial Corporation has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 15 brokerages, with a 1-year target price averaging $150.92.
• Insider Edward J. Wehmer purchased 3,919 shares at $26.35 each, increasing his position, while COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares at $131.53, reflecting a 7.58% decrease in his holdings.
• The company reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, exceeding expectations and marking a yearly growth from $2.47 EPS last year.

Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $150.9231.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Wintrust Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $158.00 target price on Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 689 shares of the bank's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 600 shares of the bank's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 28.2% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 450 shares of the bank's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Securian Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,098 shares of the bank's stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of Wintrust Financial stock opened at $129.41 on Wednesday. Wintrust Financial has a 1 year low of $89.10 and a 1 year high of $142.04. The firm has a market cap of $8.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $132.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The bank reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.43. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 18.85%.The firm had revenue of $697.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $689.10 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial will post 10.36 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.92%.

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.

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