Brokerages Set Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) PT at $133.69

Shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Buy" by the thirteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $132.38.

Several research firms recently weighed in on WTFC. UBS Group started coverage on Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $157.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective (up previously from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $152.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial upgraded Wintrust Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Wintrust Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

WTFC traded up $8.96 on Friday, hitting $104.13. 1,043,452 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 412,520. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 0.94. 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 12 month low of $89.10 and a 12 month high of $142.04. The business has a 50-day moving average of $117.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.92.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 17.52% and a return on equity of 12.60%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial will post 10.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.40%.

Insider Activity

In other Wintrust Financial news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.30, for a total transaction of $418,321.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 48,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,409,278.20. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.32, for a total transaction of $310,309.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 19,858 shares in the company, valued at $2,607,752.56. This trade represents a 10.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,315 in the last ninety days. 1.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTFC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,911,488 shares of the bank's stock valued at $861,932,000 after purchasing an additional 58,162 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 5.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,627,561 shares of the bank's stock valued at $285,169,000 after purchasing an additional 126,724 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $163,767,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 11.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,308,254 shares of the bank's stock worth $141,981,000 after purchasing an additional 133,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,263,837 shares of the bank's stock worth $157,613,000 after purchasing an additional 337,763 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.