Nicholas Investment Partners LP Purchases 714 Shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Nicholas Investment Partners LP grew its stake in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,250 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the period. Nicholas Investment Partners LP owned about 0.12% of Wintrust Financial worth $7,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTFC. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Concord Wealth Partners acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the first quarter worth $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 825.0% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 296 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 70.0% during the first quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 488 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Trading Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ WTFC opened at $102.10 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $103.81 and a 200-day moving average of $100.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $71.86 and a 1-year high of $113.68. The firm has a market cap of $6.31 billion, a PE ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 1.16.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The bank reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $591.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $587.33 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 17.02% and a return on equity of 12.71%. Wintrust Financial’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.38 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.11 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is 18.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday, July 18th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Wintrust Financial from $113.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $118.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.85.

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.