Wintrust Financial’s (WTFC) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their outperform rating on shares of Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $152.00 price objective on the bank’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $126.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com cut Wintrust Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group began 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. Finally, Truist Financial raised shares of Wintrust Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.69.

Wintrust Financial Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ WTFC opened at $131.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a PE ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 1.20. Wintrust Financial has a one year low of $89.68 and a one year high of $142.04. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $131.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.81.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.11. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 17.52% and a return on equity of 12.60%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial will post 10.17 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 6th. This is a boost from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is currently 17.46%.

Insider Transactions at Wintrust Financial

In related news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 4,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.63, for a total value of $473,967.37. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 15,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.48, for a total value of $1,789,016.16. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 197,591 shares in the company, valued at $22,817,808.68. The trade was a 7.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised 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 worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the third quarter worth $61,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Wintrust Financial by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 77.9% during the third 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. 93.48% of the stock is currently 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.