Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $136.20 and last traded at $136.09, with a volume of 62033 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $133.63.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Raymond James upped their target price on Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $126.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 1.9 %

The company’s 50 day moving average is $115.46 and its 200 day moving average is $105.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.00 and a beta of 1.15.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.03). Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 16.52% and a return on equity of 11.99%. The company had revenue of $615.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $623.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.53 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is 18.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wintrust Financial

In other news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 15,492 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.48, for a total transaction of $1,789,016.16. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 197,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,817,808.68. This trade represents a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 1,607 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.46, for a total transaction of $182,330.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,687,604.04. This trade represents a 9.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,198 shares of company stock worth $2,445,314. 1.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Wintrust Financial by 825.0% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 296 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 62.0% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 512 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 77.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 653 shares of the bank’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.48% 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.