Inspire Investing LLC Cuts Position in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Inspire Investing LLC lessened its stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 85.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,133 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 19,121 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WTFC. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 89.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,384 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $403,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Wintrust Financial by 27.8% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,612 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $856,000 after acquiring an additional 1,655 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in Wintrust Financial by 1,132.3% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,639 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $184,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Wintrust Financial by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 12,885 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,449,000 after acquiring an additional 957 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

Wintrust Financial stock opened at $120.24 on Friday. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $89.10 and a 12-month high of $142.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $132.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $670.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.43 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 12.08%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 7th. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTFC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wintrust Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $157.00 price objective (up from $155.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective (up from $141.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.57.

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.