Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.55

Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be given a dividend of 0.55 per share by the bank on Thursday, August 20th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th.

Wintrust Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 12 consecutive years. Wintrust Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 19.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Wintrust Financial to earn $13.79 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.0%.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ WTFC opened at $157.77 on Friday. Wintrust Financial has a 1-year low of $119.61 and a 1-year high of $167.21. The company has a market capitalization of $10.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $156.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The bank reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.15. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 13.37% and a net margin of 20.72%.The company had revenue of $738.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $735.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.78 earnings per share. Wintrust Financial’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Wintrust Financial will post 13.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 9,579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.82, for a total transaction of $1,425,546.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 179,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,759,324.20. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Suzet M. Mckinney sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.96, for a total transaction of $74,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $492,014.88. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WTFC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the fourth quarter worth $111,924,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $90,187,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,287,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 26.6% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,830,268 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $254,297,000 after acquiring an additional 385,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial in the first quarter valued at about $34,272,000. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.