StockNews.com Upgrades Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) to "Hold"

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Friday.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Wintrust Financial to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $157.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $152.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $133.69.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:WTFC traded down $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $129.07. 401,325 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 464,528. 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 company has a market cap of $8.58 billion, a PE ratio of 12.52 and a beta of 1.19. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $129.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $118.68. Wintrust Financial has a 1 year low of $90.29 and a 1 year high of $142.04.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 in the prior year, the company posted $1.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Wintrust Financial will post 10.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 4,213 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of Wintrust Financial 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 transaction, the insider now owns 48,814 shares in the company, valued at $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 quarter, insiders sold 10,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,315. 1.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Creative Planning lifted its position in Wintrust Financial by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,966 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the second quarter worth $1,018,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 29.7% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,204 shares of the bank's stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 15,623 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Wintrust Financial by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,014 shares of the bank's stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. 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.