Maltese Capital Management LLC Has $3.14 Million Stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Maltese Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 70.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,727 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 56,273 shares during the period. Maltese Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $3,142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the second quarter worth $87,418,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the third quarter worth about $90,187,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Wintrust Financial by 417.9% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 506,766 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,116,000 after buying an additional 408,925 shares in the last quarter. Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the second quarter worth about $44,085,000. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 572,816 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $75,864,000 after buying an additional 122,221 shares during the period. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wintrust Financial news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,291 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.05, for a total value of $480,650.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 46,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,725,456.45. This represents a 6.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathleen M. Boege sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.38, for a total value of $731,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,349,613.54. This represents a 17.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 11,662 shares of company stock worth $1,705,730 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 1.0%

WTFC opened at $131.54 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s 50 day moving average is $147.54 and its 200-day moving average is $138.81. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $89.10 and a 1-year high of $162.96.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $3.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $714.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $700.85 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 12.95%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.63 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 5th. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on WTFC. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen upped their target price on Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Wintrust Financial from $161.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.31.

About Wintrust Financial

Wintrust Financial Corporation is a Chicago‐area bank holding company headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois. Through its primary subsidiary, Wintrust Bank, the company operates a network of community banks serving metropolitan Chicago and select markets in southeastern Wisconsin. These locally branded banks provide personalized commercial and consumer banking solutions tailored to small and mid‐size businesses, professionals, and individual clients.

The firm’s core offerings include deposit products, commercial and residential lending, treasury management, and mortgage banking services.