Skylands Capital LLC Reduces Stake in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Skylands Capital LLC lessened its position in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 52.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,200 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 10,200 shares during the quarter. Skylands Capital LLC’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $853,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WTFC. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 120.8% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 351 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Huntington National Bank raised its position in Wintrust Financial by 30.6% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 725 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,026 shares of the bank’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on WTFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Wintrust Financial from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $115.00 to $113.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.33.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In other Wintrust Financial news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 588 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.88, for a total value of $57,553.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $333,770.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Wintrust Financial news, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 588 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.88, for a total transaction of $57,553.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,410 shares in the company, valued at $333,770.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward J. Wehmer sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.36, for a total transaction of $943,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 177,124 shares in the company, valued at $17,599,040.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 10,309 shares of company stock valued at $1,023,730. Insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Trading Down 0.8 %

Wintrust Financial stock opened at $97.46 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $98.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.01. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $58.12 and a 1 year high of $105.29. The stock has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 1.21.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The bank reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.47. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 17.86% and a return on equity of 13.09%. The company had revenue of $604.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. Wintrust Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 9th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.61%.

Wintrust Financial Company Profile

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.