Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Issues Earnings Results

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.47, Briefing.com reports. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 13.09% and a net margin of 17.86%. The business had revenue of $604.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ:WTFC traded up $2.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $97.31. The company had a trading volume of 384,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 372,738. The company has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $98.18 and a 200 day moving average of $90.73. Wintrust Financial has a 1 year low of $58.12 and a 1 year high of $105.29.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, February 8th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 7th. This is a boost from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.61%.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In other news, insider Edward J. Wehmer sold 9,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.36, for a total value of $943,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 177,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,599,040.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 588 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.88, for a total value of $57,553.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $333,770.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Edward J. Wehmer sold 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.36, for a total transaction of $943,920.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 177,124 shares in the company, valued at $17,599,040.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTFC. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,156,440 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $449,112,000 after acquiring an additional 119,790 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 1.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,928,458 shares of the bank’s stock worth $483,466,000 after purchasing an additional 109,995 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,795,528 shares of the bank’s stock worth $203,011,000 after buying an additional 112,337 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,913,872 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $139,616,000 after buying an additional 75,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,338,516 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $113,131,000 after buying an additional 45,932 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WTFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Wintrust Financial from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. StockNews.com raised Wintrust Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $105.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $112.92.

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.