Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.47 EPS

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The bank reported $2.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.47, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $604.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $577.80 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 13.29% and a net margin of 17.86%. Wintrust Financial’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 2.5 %

WTFC stock traded up $2.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $97.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 121,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 414,011. The company has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.05 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $98.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Wintrust Financial has a 12 month low of $58.12 and a 12 month high of $105.29.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 7th. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,015 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,048 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $172,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 4,135 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 36.1% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 663 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 106.2% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 365 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on WTFC shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Wintrust Financial from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Wintrust Financial from $105.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Wintrust Financial from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $112.92.

Wintrust Financial Company Profile

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.