MQS Management LLC Invests $587,000 in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,737 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $587,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 1,264.7% during the 1st quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 232 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 52.9% during the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 289 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 196.0% during the 2nd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 296 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WTFC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $166.00 price target for the company. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Wintrust Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $152.92.

Wintrust Financial Stock Up 2.3%

WTFC stock opened at $129.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $89.10 and a 12 month high of $142.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $132.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.83.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 20th. The bank reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $697.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $689.10 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 18.85% and a return on equity of 13.05%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 6th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 6th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wintrust Financial news, 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 182,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,965,818.24. This represents a 7.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

About Wintrust Financial

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.