Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on WTFC. UBS Group initiated coverage on Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $157.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target (up previously from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial raised shares of Wintrust Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.69.

Wintrust Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

WTFC stock opened at $129.61 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $129.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Wintrust Financial has a 1-year low of $91.38 and a 1-year high of $142.04. The firm has a market cap of $8.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 1.19.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.11. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 17.52% and a return on equity of 12.60%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. Research analysts predict that Wintrust Financial will post 10.33 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 6th. This is a boost from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is 19.40%.

Insider Activity

In other Wintrust Financial news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.95, for a total value of $54,475.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,042.20. This represents a 15.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.30, for a total value of $418,321.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 48,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,409,278.20. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,178 shares of company stock worth $1,336,315. Corporate insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 63.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 32.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $61,000. 93.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.