Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) Sees Significant Decline 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) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,080,000 shares, adecreaseof20.6% from the July 31st total of 1,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 393,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 393,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In related news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 182,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,965,818.24. This represents a 7.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Edward J. Wehmer purchased 3,919 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.35 per share, for a total transaction of $103,265.65. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 3,919 shares in the company, valued at $103,265.65. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wintrust Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 43.3% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 349,983 shares of the bank's stock valued at $39,359,000 after buying an additional 105,754 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,426 shares of the bank's stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $297,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 24.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,663 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,211,000 after buying an additional 3,873 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 87.9% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 25,049 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,817,000 after acquiring an additional 11,719 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wintrust Financial Stock Down 0.6%

NASDAQ WTFC opened at $138.73 on Tuesday. Wintrust Financial has a 52 week low of $89.10 and a 52 week high of $142.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $131.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.37. The firm has a market cap of $9.29 billion, a PE ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 7th. Wintrust Financial's payout ratio is 18.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTFC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $162.00 price target (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wintrust Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $160.00 price target (up previously from $141.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $147.31.

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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