StockNews.com Downgrades Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) to Sell

StockNews.com lowered shares of Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial upgraded Wintrust Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $157.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $126.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson raised their target price on Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.69.

Wintrust Financial Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Wintrust Financial stock opened at $131.89 on Thursday. Wintrust Financial has a 12-month low of $89.68 and a 12-month high of $142.04. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 1.20.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company earned $1.87 EPS. Analysts predict that Wintrust Financial will post 10.3 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is presently 17.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 19,858 shares in the company, valued at $2,607,752.56. The trade was a 10.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.95, for a total value of $54,475.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,042.20. This represents a 15.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety 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 Trading of Wintrust Financial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Wintrust Financial by 62.0% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 512 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Wintrust Financial by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 77.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 653 shares of the bank’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.