Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on WTFC. Citigroup boosted their price target on Wintrust Financial from $126.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group initiated coverage on Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $157.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler lifted 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. DA Davidson upped their price objective 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. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.00.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WTFC stock opened at $133.45 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.97 and a beta of 1.20. Wintrust Financial has a fifty-two week low of $89.68 and a fifty-two week high of $142.04. 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 50 day moving average price of $130.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.92.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 4,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.63, 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 trade represents a 8.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 15,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.48, for a total value 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 trade represents a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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 Trading of Wintrust Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Wintrust Financial by 62.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 512 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 32.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised 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 worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.