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

Key Points

• Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) has received an average consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from thirteen analysts, with a price target of approximately $145.77.
• Analysts like Royal Bank Of Canada and Raymond James Financial have increased their price targets for Wintrust, with recent estimates reaching as high as $158.00.
• The company recently reported strong earnings, with $2.78 earnings per share, exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.59, alongside a quarterly dividend of $0.50.

Shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $145.7692.

WTFC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Wintrust Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $157.00 price target (up from $155.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st.

Insider Transactions at Wintrust Financial

In related news, insider Edward J. Wehmer purchased 3,919 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.35 per share, for a total transaction of $103,265.65. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 3,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,265.65. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $1,965,321.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 182,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,965,818.24. The trade was a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WTFC. Maseco LLP bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 1,264.7% in the first quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 232 shares of the bank's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the first quarter worth about $27,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the first quarter worth about $36,000. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wintrust Financial Trading Down 0.6%

WTFC stock opened at $137.29 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Wintrust Financial has a twelve month low of $89.10 and a twelve month high of $142.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.99 and a beta of 0.87. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $129.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.04.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $670.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.43 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 12.08%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.32 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Wintrust Financial Company Profile

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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