Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) Given New $156.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $151.00 to $156.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the bank’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.35% from the company’s previous close.

WTFC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $150.00 target price (up previously from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Wintrust Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.00.

Wintrust Financial Price Performance

Shares of WTFC traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $132.93. 109,302 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 455,242. The stock has a market cap of $8.84 billion, a PE ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.32. Wintrust Financial has a 12 month low of $89.68 and a 12 month high of $142.04.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.11. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.92% and a net margin of 17.52%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.87 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Wintrust Financial will post 10.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 4,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.63, for a total value of $473,967.37. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,892,420.93. This represents a 8.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 15,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.48, for a total value of $1,789,016.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 197,591 shares in the company, valued at $22,817,808.68. This trade represents a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wintrust Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTFC. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the third quarter worth $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 62.0% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 512 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the third quarter worth $61,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 77.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 653 shares of the bank’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.