Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $89.10 and last traded at $91.50, with a volume of 228982 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $99.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on WTFC. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Wintrust Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.69.

Wintrust Financial Trading Down 4.5 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $121.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.25 and a beta of 0.94.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.11. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 17.52%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.87 EPS. Research analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 19.40%.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In related news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.30, for a total value of $418,321.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 48,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,409,278.20. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.32, for a total transaction of $310,309.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 19,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,607,752.56. This represents a 10.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,315. Corporate insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTFC. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC raised its stake in Wintrust Financial by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the bank’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,500 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,307,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 2.8% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,859 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 1.7% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,201 shares of the bank’s stock worth $673,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gitterman Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,373 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

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.