Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $164.00 and last traded at $162.5450, with a volume of 6448 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTFC has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $188.00 price objective (up from $184.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $178.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.58.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.23. The company has a market capitalization of $10.92 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59 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 (NASDAQ:WTFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.96 by $0.26. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 20.11%.The business had revenue of $713.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $707.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 13.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 9,579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.82, for a total transaction of $1,425,546.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 179,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,759,324.20. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Suzet M. Mckinney sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.96, for a total transaction of $74,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $492,014.88. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,099 shares of company stock valued at $1,954,386. 1.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Choreo LLC increased its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the bank’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Wintrust Financial by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the bank’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Wintrust Financial by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 8,914 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,246,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

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.