Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

WTFC has been the topic of several other research reports. Citigroup lowered shares of Wintrust Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Truist Financial increased their price target on Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Capital One Financial set a $170.00 price objective on Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.77.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Wintrust Financial stock opened at $151.99 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 0.84. Wintrust Financial has a 12 month low of $119.61 and a 12 month high of $167.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $157.62 and its 200-day moving average is $151.02.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The bank reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $738.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $735.36 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 13.37% and a net margin of 20.72%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.78 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 6th. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.67%.

Insider Transactions at Wintrust Financial

In other Wintrust Financial news, COO David Dykstra sold 13,515 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.77, for a total value of $2,199,836.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 166,449 shares in the company, valued at $27,092,903.73. The trade was a 7.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wintrust Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 15,788.5% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 12,508,355 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,010,343,000 after buying an additional 12,429,629 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Wintrust Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,058,088,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 26.6% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,830,268 shares of the bank’s stock worth $254,297,000 after acquiring an additional 385,069 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,273,042 shares of the bank’s stock worth $178,038,000 after acquiring an additional 16,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $168,021,000. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wintrust Financial Company Profile

Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: WTFC) is a financial services company and bank holding company headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois. Founded in 1991, the company operates a network of community banks that serve individuals, families, businesses and institutions.

Wintrust’s banking operations provide deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage financing, treasury management, payment services and other traditional banking products. Through specialized subsidiaries and affiliated businesses, the company also offers wealth management, investment services, insurance premium financing, equipment leasing and related financial solutions.

The company primarily serves communities in the greater Chicago metropolitan area and has expanded its banking presence into surrounding Midwestern markets, including parts of Wisconsin and Indiana.