Advertisement
U.S. markets closed
  • S&P 500

    5,254.35
    +5.86 (+0.11%)
     
  • Dow 30

    39,807.37
    +47.29 (+0.12%)
     
  • Nasdaq

    16,379.46
    -20.06 (-0.12%)
     
  • Russell 2000

    2,124.55
    +10.20 (+0.48%)
     
  • Crude Oil

    83.11
    +1.76 (+2.16%)
     
  • Gold

    2,254.80
    +42.10 (+1.90%)
     
  • Silver

    25.10
    +0.35 (+1.41%)
     
  • EUR/USD

    1.0793
    -0.0036 (-0.33%)
     
  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.2060
    +0.0100 (+0.24%)
     
  • GBP/USD

    1.2625
    -0.0013 (-0.10%)
     
  • USD/JPY

    151.3880
    +0.1420 (+0.09%)
     
  • Bitcoin USD

    70,705.38
    +1,687.77 (+2.45%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • FTSE 100

    7,952.62
    +20.64 (+0.26%)
     
  • Nikkei 225

    40,168.07
    -594.66 (-1.46%)
     

Should You Be Pleased About The CEO Pay At Wintrust Financial Corporation's (NASDAQ:WTFC)

In 1998 Ed Wehmer was appointed CEO of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC). First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. Then we'll look at a snap shot of the business growth. Third, we'll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. This process should give us an idea about how appropriately the CEO is paid.

View our latest analysis for Wintrust Financial

How Does Ed Wehmer's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

At the time of writing, our data says that Wintrust Financial Corporation has a market cap of US$3.3b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of US$4.9m for the year to December 2018. We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at US$1.2m. Importantly, there may be performance hurdles relating to the non-salary component of the total compensation. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations from US$2.0b to US$6.4b, and the median CEO total compensation was US$5.0m.

That means Ed Wehmer receives fairly typical remuneration for the CEO of a company that size. Although this fact alone doesn't tell us a great deal, it becomes more relevant when considered against the business performance.

You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Wintrust Financial has changed over time.

NasdaqGS:WTFC CEO Compensation, February 28th 2020
NasdaqGS:WTFC CEO Compensation, February 28th 2020

Is Wintrust Financial Corporation Growing?

Wintrust Financial Corporation has increased its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 17% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 9.5% over last year.

This shows that the company has improved itself over the last few years. Good news for shareholders. It's also good to see modest revenue growth, suggesting the underlying business is healthy. You might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for future earnings.

Has Wintrust Financial Corporation Been A Good Investment?

Given the total loss of 22% over three years, many shareholders in Wintrust Financial Corporation are probably rather dissatisfied, to say the least. So shareholders would probably think the company shouldn't be too generous with CEO compensation.

In Summary...

Remuneration for Ed Wehmer is close enough to the median pay for a CEO of a similar sized company .

We think that the EPS growth is very pleasing, but we cannot say the same about the lacklustre shareholder returns (over the last three years). Considering the the positives we don't think the CEO pays is too high, but it's certainly hard to argue it is too low. So you may want to check if insiders are buying Wintrust Financial shares with their own money (free access).

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.

Advertisement