HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 1,056 Shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,297 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,056 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $1,833,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTFC. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 1,264.7% during the 1st quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 232 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 33.9% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Wintrust Financial

In related news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.53, for a total value of $1,965,321.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 182,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,965,818.24. The trade was a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Edward J. Wehmer purchased 3,919 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.35 per share, with a total value of $103,265.65. Following the purchase, the insider owned 3,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $103,265.65. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wintrust Financial Stock Up 4.1%

WTFC stock opened at $134.02 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $8.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.76. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $89.10 and a 52 week high of $142.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $670.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.43 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 18.06%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 7th. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is 18.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $162.00 price target (up previously from $145.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $157.00 target price (up previously from $155.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.77.

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.