Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. Has $19.56 Million Position in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. lowered its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,860 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 9,200 shares during the quarter. Wintrust Financial makes up approximately 3.5% of Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $19,562,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $61,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 32.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 77.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 653 shares of the bank’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 677 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ WTFC opened at $129.61 on Friday. Wintrust Financial Co. has a one year low of $91.38 and a one year high of $142.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $8.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $129.40 and its 200-day moving average is $119.21.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.11. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 17.52% and a return on equity of 12.60%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 6th. This is a boost from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 19.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTFC has been the subject of several recent research reports. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wintrust Financial

In related news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 4,213 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.31, for a total value of $553,209.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 206,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,088,465.14. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.30, for a total transaction of $418,321.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 48,814 shares in the company, valued at $6,409,278.20. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,315 in the last 90 days. 1.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wintrust Financial 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.