Hovde Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Stock

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at Hovde Group from $107.00 to $115.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the bank’s stock. Hovde Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 3.25% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Wintrust Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target (up previously from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial upgraded Wintrust Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.31.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of WTFC stock opened at $111.38 on Wednesday. Wintrust Financial has a 52-week low of $89.10 and a 52-week high of $142.04. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $7.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 0.94.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.17. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 17.52%. The company had revenue of $643.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.89 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial will post 10.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.95, for a total value of $54,475.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,042.20. The trade was a 15.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.30, for a total value of $418,321.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 48,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,409,278.20. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,178 shares of company stock worth $1,336,315. Insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Wintrust Financial by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,911,488 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $861,932,000 after purchasing an additional 58,162 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $163,767,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 11.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,308,254 shares of the bank’s stock worth $141,981,000 after acquiring an additional 133,311 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,263,837 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $157,613,000 after acquiring an additional 337,763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,165,898 shares of the bank’s stock worth $145,443,000 after purchasing an additional 10,172 shares during the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.