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

Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 951,600 shares, a growth of 24.1% from the November 30th total of 766,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 416,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Wintrust Financial Stock Down 1.0 %

Wintrust Financial stock opened at $125.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.33 billion, a PE ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 1.18. Wintrust Financial has a 12-month low of $89.68 and a 12-month high of $142.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $127.83 and its 200 day moving average is $112.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $615.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $623.45 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 16.52% and a return on equity of 11.99%. Wintrust Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Wintrust Financial will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is currently 18.85%.

Insider Activity

In other Wintrust Financial news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 4,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.63, for a total transaction of $473,967.37. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,892,420.93. The trade was a 8.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 1,607 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,198 shares of company stock worth $2,445,314. Insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 62.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Wintrust Financial during the third quarter worth $61,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 77.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 653 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 24.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,014 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WTFC shares. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group initiated coverage on Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $157.00 price target for the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial upped their target price on Wintrust Financial from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Three research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.00.

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.