Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 654,300 shares, a decline of 18.4% from the October 31st total of 801,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 386,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WTFC opened at $138.01 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Wintrust Financial has a 1 year low of $84.96 and a 1 year high of $142.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.18 billion, a PE ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $119.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.51.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $615.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $623.45 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.53 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Wintrust Financial will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wintrust Financial

In other news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 15,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 197,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,817,808.68. The trade was a 7.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 1,607 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.46, for a total value of $182,330.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,874 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Wintrust Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.8% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,049 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,200,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 866 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Shaker Investments LLC OH increased its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Shaker Investments LLC OH now owns 28,928 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,140,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,859 shares of the bank’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,201 shares of the bank’s stock worth $673,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on WTFC shares. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $126.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Wintrust Financial from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

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.