Weekly Analysts’ Ratings Changes for Wintrust Financial (WTFC)

Several brokerages have updated their recommendations and price targets on shares of Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ: WTFC) in the last few weeks:

• 1/30/2025 – Wintrust Financial was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating.
• 1/23/2025 – Wintrust Financial had its “strong-buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Raymond James. They now have a $150.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $135.00.
• 1/23/2025 – Wintrust Financial had its price target raised by analysts at Piper Sandler from $151.00 to $156.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 1/23/2025 – Wintrust Financial had its price target raised by analysts at Barclays PLC from $151.00 to $155.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 1/23/2025 – Wintrust Financial had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada. They now have a $152.00 price target on the stock.
• 1/22/2025 – Wintrust Financial was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating.
• 1/14/2025 – Wintrust Financial was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating.
• 1/6/2025 – Wintrust Financial was upgraded by analysts at Truist Financial Co. to a “strong-buy” rating.
• 1/3/2025 – Wintrust Financial was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating.
• 12/17/2024 – Wintrust Financial is now covered by analysts at UBS Group AG. They set a “buy” rating and a $157.00 price target on the stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Wintrust Financial stock traded down $0.47 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $128.66. 99,860 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 471,485. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $89.68 and a 1-year high of $142.04. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $8.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.48 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $130.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.08.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 17.52%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.46%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WTFC. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,049 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,200,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the bank’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Shaker Investments LLC OH boosted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 0.3% in the third quarter. Shaker Investments LLC OH now owns 28,928 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,140,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in Wintrust Financial by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,500 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,307,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in Wintrust Financial by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,859 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.