Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

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

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on WTFC. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Wintrust Financial from $126.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.69.

Wintrust Financial Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of WTFC stock opened at $130.81 on Thursday. Wintrust Financial has a 52-week low of $89.68 and a 52-week high of $142.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $130.95 and its 200-day moving average is $117.68.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.11. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 17.52%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Wintrust Financial will post 10.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wintrust Financial

In other Wintrust Financial news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 416 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.95, for a total value of $54,475.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at $298,042.20. The trade was a 15.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.32, for a total value of $310,309.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 19,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,607,752.56. The trade was a 10.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,315 in the last ninety days. 1.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WTFC. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,153,999 shares of the bank’s stock worth $559,364,000 after purchasing an additional 637,072 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,627,561 shares of the bank’s stock worth $285,169,000 after purchasing an additional 126,724 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,308,254 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $141,981,000 after buying an additional 133,311 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Wintrust Financial by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,155,726 shares of the bank’s stock worth $125,464,000 after buying an additional 92,995 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 36.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 802,841 shares of the bank’s stock worth $87,132,000 after acquiring an additional 213,559 shares during the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.