Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Key Points

• Wintrust Financial Corporation experienced a significant decrease in short interest of 20.6% in August, with totals dropping from 1,360,000 shares to 1,080,000 shares.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $2.78, exceeding expectations, along with a revenue of $670.78 million for the same period.
• Wintrust Financial declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, reflecting a 1.4% yield and a payout ratio of 18.92%.

Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,080,000 shares, a decline of 20.6% from the July 31st total of 1,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 393,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Based on an average daily volume of 393,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on WTFC. Truist Financial increased their price target on Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $157.00 price target (up previously from $155.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Wintrust Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $147.31.

Wintrust Financial Trading Down 0.4%

WTFC stock traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $135.58. The company had a trading volume of 292,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 367,155. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Wintrust Financial has a 52 week low of $89.10 and a 52 week high of $142.04. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $131.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.76. The stock has a market cap of $9.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.83 and a beta of 0.87.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $670.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 previous year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Wintrust Financial will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Wintrust Financial

In related news, insider Edward J. Wehmer bought 3,919 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were acquired 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 directly owned 3,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $103,265.65. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed 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 that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were 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 owned 182,208 shares in the company, valued at $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. 1.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,410,773 shares of the bank's stock valued at $158,656,000 after buying an additional 97,587 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,229,858 shares of the bank's stock worth $152,478,000 after acquiring an additional 101,134 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 936,834 shares of the bank's stock worth $116,149,000 after acquiring an additional 129,444 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Wintrust Financial by 20.2% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 852,583 shares of the bank's stock valued at $95,881,000 after purchasing an additional 143,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 751,481 shares of the bank's stock valued at $93,170,000 after acquiring an additional 81,763 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.48% of the company's stock.

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.