Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Boosts Stock Position in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 48,217 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,400 shares during the quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Wintrust Financial worth $6,386,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $87,418,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $90,187,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 417.9% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 506,766 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,116,000 after acquiring an additional 408,925 shares in the last quarter. Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the second quarter worth $44,085,000. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 27.1% in the third quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 572,816 shares of the bank’s stock worth $75,864,000 after acquiring an additional 122,221 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WTFC shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $167.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $176.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $161.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,291 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.05, for a total value of $480,650.55. Following the transaction, the insider owned 46,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,725,456.45. This represents a 6.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 314 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.43, for a total transaction of $45,665.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,947 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,152.21. The trade was a 13.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,662 shares of company stock valued at $1,705,730. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ WTFC opened at $131.54 on Tuesday. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $89.10 and a 12 month high of $162.96. The stock has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $147.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $3.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $714.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $700.85 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 19.48%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.30%.

Wintrust Financial Company Profile

Wintrust Financial Corporation is a Chicago‐area bank holding company headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois. Through its primary subsidiary, Wintrust Bank, the company operates a network of community banks serving metropolitan Chicago and select markets in southeastern Wisconsin. These locally branded banks provide personalized commercial and consumer banking solutions tailored to small and mid‐size businesses, professionals, and individual clients.

The firm’s core offerings include deposit products, commercial and residential lending, treasury management, and mortgage banking services.