Nicholas Investment Partners LP Takes Position in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Nicholas Investment Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 130,326 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $20,946,000. Wintrust Financial makes up about 1.2% of Nicholas Investment Partners LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Nicholas Investment Partners LP owned 0.19% of Wintrust Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Wintrust Financial by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 976 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $136,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,545 shares of the bank’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 8,914 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,246,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 2.4% in the third quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 3,730 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $494,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. increased its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 5.3% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,868 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In other news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 13,515 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.77, for a total value of $2,199,836.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 166,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,092,903.73. This trade represents a 7.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

WTFC opened at $151.99 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $159.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $151.30. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $119.61 and a twelve month high of $167.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 0.85.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The bank reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.15. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 20.72% and a return on equity of 13.37%. The company had revenue of $738.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $735.36 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.78 EPS. Wintrust Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTFC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Brean Capital downgraded shares of Wintrust Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Wintrust Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.77.

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.