Short Interest in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) Increases By 458.4%

Key Points

• Short interest in Wintrust Financial Corporation surged 458.4% in July, reaching 1,850,000 shares as of July 15th, compared to 331,300 shares at the end of June.
• The company's stock is currently down 3.1% and has a market capitalization of $8.30 billion, with a twelve-month price range of $89.10 to $142.04.
• Wintrust Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $2.00, and has a payout ratio of 18.92%.

Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,850,000 shares, anincreaseof458.4% from the June 30th total of 331,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 402,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.6 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 402,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WTFC shares. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price target on Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 price target on Wintrust Financial and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $162.00 price objective (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $145.77.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ WTFC traded down $0.61 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $124.25. The company had a trading volume of 115,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 447,710. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.23. Wintrust Financial has a 52 week low of $89.10 and a 52 week high of $142.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.75 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.78 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Wintrust Financial will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.92%.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Burney Co. purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial during the second quarter valued at $288,000. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 0.6% during the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 16,063 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,991,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 45.0% in the second quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 12,263 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 3,803 shares during the period. Strs Ohio boosted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 0.9% during the second quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 105,793 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,116,000 after buying an additional 930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 30.4% during the second quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 11,800 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,463,000 after buying an additional 2,751 shares during the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.