Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Sets New 1-Year High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $150.98 and last traded at $148.7250, with a volume of 84788 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $144.72.

The bank reported $3.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.22. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 18.85% and a return on equity of 12.82%. The business had revenue of $586.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $700.85 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.63 EPS.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 6th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 6th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Wintrust Financial from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $159.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.50.

Institutional Trading of Wintrust Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,992,906 shares of the bank’s stock worth $263,940,000 after purchasing an additional 102,833 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.6% in the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,442,018 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $190,981,000 after purchasing an additional 8,048 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 6.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,300,234 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $172,204,000 after purchasing an additional 75,155 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 9.0% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,229,858 shares of the bank’s stock worth $152,478,000 after buying an additional 101,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 1.4% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,071,763 shares of the bank’s stock worth $141,944,000 after buying an additional 15,044 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wintrust Financial Stock Up 3.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $9.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.77 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $139.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $133.93.

About Wintrust Financial

Wintrust Financial Corporation is a Chicago‐area bank holding company headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois. Through its primary subsidiary, Wintrust Bank, the company operates a network of community banks serving metropolitan Chicago and select markets in southeastern Wisconsin. These locally branded banks provide personalized commercial and consumer banking solutions tailored to small and mid‐size businesses, professionals, and individual clients.

The firm’s core offerings include deposit products, commercial and residential lending, treasury management, and mortgage banking services.