Analysts Set Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) Target Price at $112.92

Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) has earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $112.33.

Several research firms have commented on WTFC. StockNews.com raised shares of Wintrust Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $117.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $115.00 to $113.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ WTFC opened at $99.30 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $98.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 1.21. Wintrust Financial has a 1 year low of $58.12 and a 1 year high of $105.29.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The bank reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $604.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.80 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 17.86% and a return on equity of 13.09%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Wintrust Financial will post 10.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 7th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. This is a positive change from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wintrust Financial

In other Wintrust Financial news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.88, for a total transaction of $57,553.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $333,770.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.88, for a total transaction of $57,553.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,410 shares in the company, valued at $333,770.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward J. Wehmer sold 9,500 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.36, for a total value of $943,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 177,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,599,040.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WTFC. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 79.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,566,003 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $145,247,000 after purchasing an additional 693,452 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,898,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 136.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 860,623 shares of the bank’s stock worth $79,823,000 after purchasing an additional 497,065 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,651,381 shares of the bank’s stock worth $351,179,000 after acquiring an additional 480,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,267,000. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.