Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Invests $13.18 Million in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new position in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 81,975 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $13,175,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the second quarter valued at about $1,058,088,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $111,924,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the third quarter worth about $90,187,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the second quarter worth about $92,391,000. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $59,287,000. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WTFC shares. Brean Capital downgraded Wintrust Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Monday, June 29th. Citigroup lowered shares of Wintrust Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Piper Sandler set a $186.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.77.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In related news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 13,515 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.77, for a total transaction of $2,199,836.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 166,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,092,903.73. This represents a 7.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WTFC opened at $152.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $10.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $159.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.31. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $119.61 and a 52-week high of $167.21.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The bank reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.15. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 20.72% and a return on equity of 13.37%. The business had revenue of $738.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $735.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th were given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is currently 17.67%.

Wintrust Financial 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.