D.A. Davidson & Co. on Wintrust Financial; Raises PT

Analysts at D.A. Davidson & Co. on Thursday, April 17, 2014, released their rating on Wintrust Financial WTFC. Shares of the company are up $0.51 or 1.11 percent to $46.61 per share. CFA Stephen Geyen led the research at the firm and is upgrading its rating on Wintrust Financial to Buy from Neutral. Additionally, the firm is raising its price target to $53 from $51. However, its 2014 earnings per share estimate to $3.00 has not changed and it 2015 EPS estimate has increased to $3.33 from $3.27 per share. Wintrust Financial reported first quarter earnings per share of $0.68; this was $0.04 above the firm's forecast and $0.02 below its consensus. Second quarter growth has improved as first quarter headwind subsides. The pipeline for new loans for the first quarter is steady and up modestly at 1.2 billion. The firm also believes that total average loan growth in the second quarter is likely to benefit from an increase in mortgage loans held for sale and higher warehouse lending. The firm also believes that Wintrust Financial currently has an attractive valuation, “WTFC shares trade at 13.8x forward estimates and 1.5x of TBV vs. the peer group median of 14.4x and 1.78x, respectively. Given the outlook for a near double-digit loan and EPS growth, an asset sensitive balance sheet and potential return on our $53 price target, we are raising our rating on WTFC shares to BUY from Neutral.” D.A. Davidson & Co. has cited three potential risks: • Interest Rate Risk • Credit Risk • Execution Risk