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

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

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of WTFC stock traded up $1.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $96.67. 70,074 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 413,319. The firm has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.99 and a beta of 1.21. Wintrust Financial has a fifty-two week low of $58.12 and a fifty-two week high of $105.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.57.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 22nd. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 7th. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WTFC shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Wintrust Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $105.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $112.92.

Insider Transactions at Wintrust Financial

In other news, 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 transaction of $57,553.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $333,770.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Edward J. Wehmer sold 9,500 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 177,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,599,040.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 588 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.88, for a total transaction 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. Insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FIL Ltd raised its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 305,188 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,306,000 after purchasing an additional 100,227 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,466 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,455,000 after purchasing an additional 3,119 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 4th quarter worth $569,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 26,211 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,431,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Multi Strategy Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 82.2% during the 4th quarter. Weiss Multi Strategy Advisers LLC now owns 111,510 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,343,000 after purchasing an additional 50,293 shares during the period. 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.