Magnetar Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,296 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $411,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,153,999 shares of the bank's stock valued at $559,364,000 after purchasing an additional 637,072 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the fourth quarter worth $40,562,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased 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 valued at $87,132,000 after buying an additional 213,559 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Wintrust Financial by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,308,254 shares of the bank's stock worth $141,981,000 after buying an additional 133,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $150.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com cut Wintrust Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded shares of Wintrust Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $133.69.

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Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WTFC traded down $1.09 during trading on Thursday, reaching $113.86. 297,451 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 388,847. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 1.16. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $91.38 and a 12 month high of $142.04. The company has a 50 day moving average of $123.86 and a 200-day moving average of $122.16. 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 (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.11. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 17.52%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.87 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. This is a positive change from Wintrust Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.40%.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In other Wintrust Financial news, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.32, for a total transaction of $310,309.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 19,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,607,752.56. This trade represents a 10.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 416 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.95, for a total transaction of $54,475.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,178 shares of company stock worth $1,336,315 in the last ninety days. 1.47% of the stock is owned by 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.