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

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The bank reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $604.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $577.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ WTFC traded up $2.39 on Friday, reaching $97.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 121,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 414,011. Wintrust Financial has a twelve month low of $58.12 and a twelve month 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 stock has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a PE ratio of 10.05 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $98.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.57.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 7th. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on WTFC. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday. 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 report on Monday, March 18th. UBS Group upped their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wintrust Financial

In other Wintrust Financial news, insider Edward J. Wehmer sold 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.36, for a total transaction of $943,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 177,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,599,040.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Wintrust Financial news, insider Edward J. Wehmer sold 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.36, for a total transaction of $943,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 177,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,599,040.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.88, for a total transaction of $57,553.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $333,770.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wintrust Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WTFC. FIL Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 305,188 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,306,000 after purchasing an additional 100,227 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,466 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,455,000 after purchasing an additional 3,119 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $569,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 26,211 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,431,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Multi Strategy Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 82.2% in the 4th quarter. Weiss Multi Strategy Advisers LLC now owns 111,510 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,343,000 after purchasing an additional 50,293 shares during the period. 93.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.