Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Downgraded to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group initiated coverage on Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $157.00 price target for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $126.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James raised their target price on Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.00.

Wintrust Financial Stock Up 1.5 %

WTFC stock traded up $1.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $125.81. 250,215 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 318,357. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.02. Wintrust Financial has a 1-year low of $89.68 and a 1-year high of $142.04. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $128.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.07. The firm has a market cap of $8.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.17 and a beta of 1.18.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $615.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $623.45 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 16.52% and a return on equity of 11.99%. Wintrust Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Wintrust Financial will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 15,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.48, for a total transaction of $1,789,016.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 197,591 shares in the company, valued at $22,817,808.68. This trade represents a 7.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 4,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.63, for a total value of $473,967.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,892,420.93. This represents a 8.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,198 shares of company stock worth $2,445,314 over the last 90 days. 1.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the third quarter worth $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 62.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 512 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the third quarter valued at about $61,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 32.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Wintrust Financial by 77.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 653 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

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.