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

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $2.89 earnings per share 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 13.09%. The firm had revenue of $604.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

Shares of WTFC opened at $97.31 on Friday. Wintrust Financial has a 1-year low of $58.12 and a 1-year high of $105.29. The stock has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a PE ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $98.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.73.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, February 8th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 7th. This is a boost from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is 18.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $116.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.92.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In other 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 value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, 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 value of $57,553.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $333,770.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 3.9% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,802 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,095,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 12.8% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,475 shares of the bank’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 1.5% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 16,809 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,562,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 33.4% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 36,861 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,425,000 after purchasing an additional 9,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 10.5% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 20,892 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,941,000 after purchasing an additional 1,992 shares during the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.