Nicholas Investment Partners LP Acquires New Holdings in Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Nicholas Investment Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 130,326 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $20,946,000. Wintrust Financial accounts for about 1.2% of Nicholas Investment Partners LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Wintrust Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,058,088,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 26.6% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,830,268 shares of the bank’s stock worth $254,297,000 after purchasing an additional 385,069 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,273,042 shares of the bank’s stock worth $178,038,000 after buying an additional 16,997 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 1.4% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,071,763 shares of the bank’s stock worth $141,944,000 after buying an additional 15,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Wintrust Financial by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 832,352 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $116,379,000 after buying an additional 151,385 shares during the period. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In related news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 13,515 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 166,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,092,903.73. This trade represents a 7.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:WTFC opened at $151.99 on Tuesday. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $119.61 and a 52-week high of $167.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $159.70 and a 200 day moving average of $151.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.98.

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

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Monday, June 29th. Piper Sandler set a $186.00 price target on Wintrust Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.77.

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.