Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) is Channing Capital Management LLC’s 5th Largest Position

Channing Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 797,270 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 42,216 shares during the quarter. Wintrust Financial makes up about 2.7% of Channing Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Channing Capital Management LLC owned about 1.20% of Wintrust Financial worth $99,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 63.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Wintrust Financial by 77.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 653 shares of the bank’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 677 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WTFC. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Wintrust Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.69.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WTFC opened at $107.76 on Tuesday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $127.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.78. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $91.38 and a 52-week high of $142.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.45 and a beta of 1.16.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $1.87 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. This is a positive change from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wintrust Financial news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 4,213 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.31, for a total value of $553,209.03. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 206,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,088,465.14. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 48,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,409,278.20. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,315 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.47% 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.