Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. Sells 9,200 Shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. lessened its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 156,860 shares of the bank's stock after selling 9,200 shares during the quarter. Wintrust Financial comprises about 3.5% of Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. owned approximately 0.24% of Wintrust Financial worth $19,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 94,338 shares of the bank's stock worth $11,765,000 after buying an additional 4,410 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Wintrust Financial by 202.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,122 shares of the bank's stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 2,761 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC increased its position in Wintrust Financial by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 11,955 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,491,000 after acquiring an additional 869 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in Wintrust Financial by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,500 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,307,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Lightrock Netherlands B.V. bought a new position in Wintrust Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $14,970,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $150.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $152.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of 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 raised shares of Wintrust Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 4,213 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.31, for a total transaction of $553,209.03. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 206,294 shares in the company, valued at $27,088,465.14. This trade represents a 2.00 % 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 Wintrust Financial 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,276 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 1.47% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

Shares of Wintrust Financial stock traded down $0.75 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $130.80. 270,732 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 451,576. The stock has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $129.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.68. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $91.38 and a 12 month high of $142.04.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm posted $1.87 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 6th. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.40%.

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.