Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) Short Interest Up 35.1% in January

Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) saw a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,310,000 shares, a growth of 35.1% from the January 15th total of 969,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 449,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Wintrust Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ WTFC opened at $129.61 on Friday. Wintrust Financial has a 52-week low of $91.38 and a 52-week high of $142.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $129.40 and a 200-day moving average of $119.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.62 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.11. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 17.52% and a return on equity of 12.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.87 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial will post 10.33 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 6th. This is a boost from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is currently 19.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Wintrust Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial upgraded Wintrust Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wintrust Financial

In other news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.30, for a total transaction of $418,321.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 48,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,409,278.20. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 416 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.95, for a total transaction of $54,475.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,042.20. The trade was a 15.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,315. 1.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wintrust Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Wintrust Financial by 63.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Wintrust Financial by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 131 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.