Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) Short Interest Update

Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 738,000 shares, a decline of 14.5% from the March 31st total of 863,400 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 243,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFSC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Enterprise Financial Services from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Enterprise Financial Services from $69.00 to $66.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James M. Havel sold 5,525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $323,046.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $903,186.09. This represents a 26.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EFSC. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in Enterprise Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Enterprise Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $50,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 83.6% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,252 shares of the bank's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in Enterprise Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at $71,000. Institutional investors own 72.21% of the company's stock.

Enterprise Financial Services Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EFSC traded up $1.38 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $54.12. The stock had a trading volume of 41,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 176,799. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $52.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.85. Enterprise Financial Services has a 12 month low of $37.28 and a 12 month high of $63.13.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $18.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $162.83 million. Enterprise Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 20.12%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Enterprise Financial Services will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from Enterprise Financial Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Enterprise Financial Services's payout ratio is 23.53%.

Enterprise Financial Services Company Profile

Enterprise Financial Services Corp operates as the holding company for Enterprise Bank & Trust that offers banking and wealth management services to individuals and corporate customers primarily in Arizona, California, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, and New Mexico. It provides checking, savings, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit.