Hennessy Advisors Inc. Has $2.42 Million Stock Holdings in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 8.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,500 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $2,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 14,344 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,778,000 after buying an additional 1,459 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,926 shares of the bank’s stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $564,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 66,468 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,241,000 after buying an additional 3,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $157.00 target price (up from $155.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $166.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.64.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WTFC opened at $130.40 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $89.10 and a 1 year high of $142.04.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $670.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.43 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 12.08%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.32 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 18.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wintrust Financial

In other news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.53, for a total transaction of $1,965,321.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 182,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,965,818.24. This represents a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward J. Wehmer purchased 3,919 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.35 per share, with a total value of $103,265.65. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 3,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,265.65. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.