Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Sets New 52-Week High - Here's Why

Shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $118.60 and last traded at $117.74, with a volume of 58558 shares. The stock had previously closed at $115.69.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WTFC. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James increased their target price on Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on Wintrust Financial from $126.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $123.00.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $108.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $102.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 1,607 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were 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 directly owns 14,874 shares in the company, valued at $1,687,604.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Wintrust Financial news, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 1,607 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.46, for a total value of $182,330.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,687,604.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 4,099 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.63, for a total value of $473,967.37. Following the sale, the insider now owns 42,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,892,420.93. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,198 shares of company stock worth $2,445,314. 1.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wintrust Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,452,753 shares of the bank's stock worth $673,603,000 after purchasing an additional 244,168 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 157.6% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 190,416 shares of the bank's stock worth $19,878,000 after purchasing an additional 116,503 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Wintrust Financial by 4.6% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,638,085 shares of the bank's stock worth $171,000,000 after purchasing an additional 72,082 shares during the period. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in Wintrust Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,115,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 2.7% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 207,944 shares of the bank's stock worth $20,495,000 after buying an additional 5,563 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company's stock.

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.