Short Interest in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) Grows By 20.3%

Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,311,500 shares, an increase of 20.3% from the January 29th total of 1,920,974 shares. Approximately 3.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 629,191 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Based on an average daily volume of 629,191 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Approximately 3.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Wintrust Financial

In related news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 314 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.43, for a total transaction of $45,665.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $283,152.21. This represents a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,499 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.16, for a total transaction of $365,253.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,724,130.08. This represents a 11.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,662 shares of company stock worth $1,705,730. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Wintrust Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the bank’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the bank’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 8,914 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Wintrust Financial by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 689 shares of the bank’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 3,730 shares of the bank’s stock worth $494,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wintrust Financial Trading Down 1.0%

WTFC opened at $145.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Wintrust Financial has a fifty-two week low of $89.10 and a fifty-two week high of $162.96. The company’s 50-day moving average is $148.59 and its 200 day moving average is $138.57.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $3.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $714.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $700.85 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 19.48%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Wintrust Financial will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 5th. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 19.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on WTFC. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $176.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $167.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.31.

About Wintrust Financial

Wintrust Financial Corporation is a Chicago‐area bank holding company headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois. Through its primary subsidiary, Wintrust Bank, the company operates a network of community banks serving metropolitan Chicago and select markets in southeastern Wisconsin. These locally branded banks provide personalized commercial and consumer banking solutions tailored to small and mid‐size businesses, professionals, and individual clients.

The firm’s core offerings include deposit products, commercial and residential lending, treasury management, and mortgage banking services.