Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

WTFC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $126.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $157.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.00.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WTFC opened at $125.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $8.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.17 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $128.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.21. Wintrust Financial has a 1-year low of $89.68 and a 1-year high of $142.04.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 4,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.63, for a total transaction of $473,967.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 42,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,892,420.93. This represents a 8.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 15,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.48, for a total transaction of $1,789,016.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 197,591 shares in the company, valued at $22,817,808.68. This represents a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,198 shares of company stock valued at $2,445,314 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 62.0% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 512 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Wintrust Financial by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Wintrust Financial by 77.9% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 653 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.