Hennessy Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 40.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,000 shares of the bank's stock after selling 6,000 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $1,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 530.3% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 39,135 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,247,000 after purchasing an additional 32,926 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in Wintrust Financial by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 80,782 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,767,000 after buying an additional 4,562 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Wintrust Financial by 36.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 802,841 shares of the bank's stock worth $87,132,000 after acquiring an additional 213,559 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Wintrust Financial by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,627,561 shares of the bank's stock worth $285,169,000 after acquiring an additional 126,724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 7.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 203,285 shares of the bank's stock worth $22,063,000 after acquiring an additional 14,699 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:WTFC traded up $1.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $135.05. 906,566 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 379,144. The company has a fifty day moving average of $130.94 and a 200 day moving average of $115.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.02. Wintrust Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $89.68 and a twelve month high of $142.04. The company has a market capitalization of $8.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 1.20.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.03). Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 16.52% and a return on equity of 11.99%. The firm had revenue of $615.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $623.45 million. Wintrust Financial's revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.53 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Wintrust Financial's payout ratio is 18.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WTFC shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on Wintrust Financial from $126.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson upped their target price on Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James raised their price target on Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Wintrust Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $128.00.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In related news, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 1,607 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.46, for a total value of $182,330.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,874 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,687,604.04. This represents a 9.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 15,492 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.48, for a total value of $1,789,016.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 197,591 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,817,808.68. The trade was a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,198 shares of company stock worth $2,445,314. 1.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wintrust Financial 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.