Wintrust Financial Corporation (WTFC.O): 2Q26 Review - Solid NII Trends Coupled With Healthy Loan Growth

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Wintrust Financial Corporation (WTFC.O): 2Q26 Review - Solid NII Trends Coupled With Healthy Loan Growth

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22 Jul 2026 05:00:00 ET │ 14 pages

Wintrust Financial Corporation (WTFC.O)

2Q26 Review - Solid NII Trends Coupled With Healthy Loan Growth

CITI'S TAKE

Buy Given that 2Q25 had outsized premium finance loan growth (both unit

increase and inflation), expectations for 2Q26 were elevated, and while Price (21 Jul 26 16:00) US$158.93

results were strong, the bar was set too high. Operationally, we believe Target price US$184.00↑

overall trends remain strong and the core PPNR outlook continues to from US$182.00

show above-peer levels of consistency (supportive to the multiple). Expected share price return 15.8%

Deposit growth was outsized without yield inflation, something that Expected dividend yield 1.1%

should not be overlooked. While we would be remiss to not highlight the

Expected total return 16.9% solid credit trends, we think the healthy NII trend and solid PPNR outlook

Market Cap US$10,719M for 2026 and 2027, couple with the minor dip in share prices, set up for a

great entry point. We increase our TP to $184 (+$2) given the stronger-

than-peer EPS growth outlook and above-peer TBV compounding.

Benjamin GerlingerAC

Estimate Changes — We have refreshed our model for the updated guidance. We +1-212-816-3538

tweak our EPS estimates for 2026 (from $13.29 to $13.45) and 2027 (to $13.96 from benjamin.gerlinger@citi.com

$14.08). We decreased our NII outlook modestly for 2026 and 2027, this was almost

entirely driven by a better loan mix in AEA but since 2Q26 was a smaller EOP balance

sheet, the net impact weighed in future balance assumptions. We think the core

expense base continues to be well-managed, however, we did move it higher in 2027