Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Hits New 1-Year Low - Should You Sell?

Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $89.10 and last traded at $91.50, with a volume of 228982 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $99.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTFC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial upgraded Wintrust Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $155.00 to $138.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $152.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Wintrust Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given 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, Wintrust Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $132.38.

Wintrust Financial Stock Up 9.4 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $117.06 and a 200-day moving average of $121.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 0.94.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company posted $1.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 4,213 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.31, for a total value of $553,209.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 206,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,088,465.14. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.30, for a total transaction of $418,321.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,178 shares of company stock worth $1,336,315. Corporate insiders own 1.47% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 63.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the bank's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 32.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Wintrust Financial by 33.9% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the bank's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Wintrust Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company's stock.

About Wintrust Financial

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.