Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Hits New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Wintrust Financial hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $163.36, reflecting strong recent momentum in the stock.
• Wall Street sentiment remains broadly positive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average price target of $168.92, and several firms recently raised or reiterated bullish targets.
• The company posted solid quarterly results, with EPS of $3.22 beating estimates and revenue rising 10.9% year over year; it also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share.

Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $163.36 and last traded at $162.2150, with a volume of 145697 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTFC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $178.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Wintrust Financial from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Friday, March 27th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $160.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $168.92.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $150.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.51 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.96 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $713.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $707.23 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 20.11%.The firm's revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.69 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wintrust Financial news, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 3,020 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.45, for a total value of $454,359.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,213 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,987,895.85. The trade was a 18.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 9,579 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.82, for a total transaction of $1,425,546.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 179,810 shares in the company, valued at $26,759,324.20. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 13,099 shares of company stock valued at $1,954,386 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.24% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WTFC. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 11,872 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,649,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in Wintrust Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $13,073,000. Vestor Capital LLC grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 47,929.2% during the first quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 23,054 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,203,000 after acquiring an additional 23,006 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 24.1% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 78,726 shares of the bank's stock worth $10,938,000 after acquiring an additional 15,309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 1,239.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,796 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,612,000 after acquiring an additional 17,393 shares during the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wintrust Financial Company Profile

Wintrust Financial Corporation is a Chicago‐area bank holding company headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois. Through its primary subsidiary, Wintrust Bank, the company operates a network of community banks serving metropolitan Chicago and select markets in southeastern Wisconsin. These locally branded banks provide personalized commercial and consumer banking solutions tailored to small and mid‐size businesses, professionals, and individual clients.

The firm's core offerings include deposit products, commercial and residential lending, treasury management, and mortgage banking services.

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