Wintrust Financial (WTFC) Set to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) is set to issue its quarterly earnings data after the market closes on Wednesday, April 17th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $2.43 per share for the quarter. Parties that are interested in participating in the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 18th. The bank reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by ($0.55). Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 13.23%. The firm had revenue of $570.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $578.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.23 EPS. On average, analysts expect Wintrust Financial to post $10 EPS for the current fiscal year and $10 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Stock Down 0.8 %

WTFC opened at $96.26 on Tuesday. Wintrust Financial has a fifty-two week low of $58.12 and a fifty-two week high of $105.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $97.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.05 and a beta of 1.21.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 7th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is presently 18.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Wintrust Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price 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. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.17.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In related 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 transaction of $57,553.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $333,770.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 588 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 3,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $333,770.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Edward J. Wehmer sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $17,599,040.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Wintrust Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. EJF Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 41.1% in the 1st quarter. EJF Capital LLC now owns 84,182 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,823,000 after buying an additional 24,509 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,336,205 shares of the bank’s stock worth $495,894,000 after purchasing an additional 36,563 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $11,642,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 102,685 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,536,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,442,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

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.