Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Stock Lifted to “Hold” by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $160.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $184.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. DA Davidson upped their target price on Wintrust Financial from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on Wintrust Financial from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $170.00 price target on Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.50.

Wintrust Financial Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ WTFC opened at $146.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.86 billion, a PE ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Wintrust Financial has a 12-month low of $119.61 and a 12-month high of $167.21. The company has a 50-day moving average of $154.83 and a 200 day moving average of $151.06.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The bank reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $738.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $735.36 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 20.72% and a return on equity of 13.37%. The business’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Wintrust Financial will post 13.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th were issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO David Dykstra sold 13,515 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $27,092,903.73. This represents a 7.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WTFC. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,172 shares of the bank’s stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,426 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $551,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Wintrust Financial by 15.2% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,764 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Wintrust Financial in the second quarter valued at about $376,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 0.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,562 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,983,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

About Wintrust Financial

Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: WTFC) is a financial services company and bank holding company headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois. Founded in 1991, the company operates a network of community banks that serve individuals, families, businesses and institutions.

Wintrust’s banking operations provide deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage financing, treasury management, payment services and other traditional banking products. Through specialized subsidiaries and affiliated businesses, the company also offers wealth management, investment services, insurance premium financing, equipment leasing and related financial solutions.

The company primarily serves communities in the greater Chicago metropolitan area and has expanded its banking presence into surrounding Midwestern markets, including parts of Wisconsin and Indiana.