Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) Short Interest Up 29.6% in August

Key Points

• Wintrust Financial Corporation's short interest increased by 29.6% in August, reaching a total of 1,400,000 shares shorted as of August 31st.
• Institutional investors now hold 93.48% of Wintrust Financial's stock, with several firms significantly increasing their positions during recent quarters.
• Analysts have rated Wintrust Financial with an average target price of $147.31, reflecting multiple upgrades from various investment firms.

Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,400,000 shares, a growth of 29.6% from the August 15th total of 1,080,000 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 412,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Based on an average daily volume of 412,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Currently, 2.1% of the company's stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on WTFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $160.00 price target (up from $141.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Wintrust Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $147.31.

Wintrust Financial Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of WTFC traded down $1.66 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $135.08. The stock had a trading volume of 879,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 387,426. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $9.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.22. Wintrust Financial has a fifty-two week low of $89.10 and a fifty-two week high of $142.04.

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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $661.43 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 12.08%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial will post 10.36 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) is currently 18.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Edward J. Wehmer acquired 3,919 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the insider directly owned 3,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $103,265.65. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.53, for a total transaction of $1,965,321.26. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 182,208 shares in the company, valued at $23,965,818.24. This trade represents 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WTFC. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 7.4% in 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 during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 9.0% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,229,858 shares of the bank's stock worth $152,478,000 after purchasing an additional 101,134 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 129,444 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 20.2% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 852,583 shares of the bank's stock worth $95,881,000 after acquiring an additional 143,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 751,481 shares of the bank's stock worth $93,170,000 after acquiring an additional 81,763 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.