Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,400,000 shares, a growth of 29.6% from the August 15th total of 1,080,000 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 412,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days. Based on an average daily volume of 412,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson increased their price target on Wintrust Financial from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price target (up previously from $141.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $162.00 price target (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.31.

Wintrust Financial Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:WTFC opened at $136.74 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Wintrust Financial has a 12-month low of $89.10 and a 12-month high of $142.04. The business’s 50 day moving average is $132.06 and its 200 day moving average is $121.09.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $670.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.43 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 18.06%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is presently 18.92%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Edward J. Wehmer bought 3,919 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.35 per share, for a total transaction of $103,265.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $103,265.65. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.53, for a total value of $1,965,321.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 182,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,965,818.24. This represents a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WTFC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the second quarter valued at $87,418,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 539.2% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 594,711 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,881,000 after purchasing an additional 501,669 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the first quarter valued at $47,769,000. Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the second quarter valued at $44,085,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 53.3% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 807,390 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $90,799,000 after acquiring an additional 280,568 shares during the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.