Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) Shares Bought by Nicholas Investment Partners LP

Nicholas Investment Partners LP grew its position in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,535 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,248 shares during the quarter. Wintrust Financial makes up approximately 1.0% of Nicholas Investment Partners LP’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Nicholas Investment Partners LP owned 0.14% of Wintrust Financial worth $11,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WTFC. Earnest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter worth $163,767,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $94,906,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Wintrust Financial by 261.4% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 698,628 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $87,126,000 after purchasing an additional 505,293 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $51,754,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,263,837 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $157,613,000 after purchasing an additional 337,763 shares during the period. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ WTFC opened at $122.16 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $8.18 billion, a PE ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.89. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $89.10 and a 12 month high of $142.04.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.17. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 17.52% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The business had revenue of $643.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $643.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.89 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is 19.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an “above average” rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Hovde Group boosted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $150.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays increased their target price on Wintrust Financial from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Stephens cut their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $145.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.54.

Wintrust Financial 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.