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

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

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial upgraded Wintrust Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.69.

Wintrust Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

WTFC opened at $129.61 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $129.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.29. 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 company has a market cap of $8.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 1.19. Wintrust Financial has a one year low of $91.38 and a one year high of $142.04.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business earned $1.87 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial will post 10.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Wintrust Financial by 0.8% during the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,049 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,200,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the bank’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,500 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,307,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 2.8% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,859 shares of the bank’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 1.7% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,201 shares of the bank’s stock worth $673,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.