Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) EVP Mark Ponder Sells 1,250 Shares

Key Points

• Insider sale: EVP Mark Ponder sold 1,250 shares at an average price of $60.55 on April 28, reducing his stake by 5.05% and leaving him with 23,526 shares (≈$1.42M).
• Earnings mixed: EFSC reported $1.31 EPS (beating by $0.01) but posted a large revenue shortfall of $113.74M versus analysts' $174.02M estimate.
• Dividend raised: The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.34 ($1.36 annualized, ~2.3% yield), payable June 30 with an ex-dividend/record date of June 15.

Enterprise Financial Services Corporation (NASDAQ:EFSC - Get Free Report) EVP Mark Ponder sold 1,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.55, for a total value of $75,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,526 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,424,499.30. This trade represents a 5.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Enterprise Financial Services Stock Down 1.7%

NASDAQ EFSC traded down $1.00 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $58.38. 43,898 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 237,157. The company's 50-day moving average is $56.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.84. Enterprise Financial Services Corporation has a one year low of $50.09 and a one year high of $62.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 0.79.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.01. Enterprise Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.40% and a net margin of 19.81%.The business had revenue of $113.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $174.02 million. On average, analysts forecast that Enterprise Financial Services Corporation will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This is a positive change from Enterprise Financial Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Enterprise Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enterprise Financial Services

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Western Financial Corp CA raised its stake in Enterprise Financial Services by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 582,933 shares of the bank's stock valued at $33,798,000 after acquiring an additional 48,391 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Enterprise Financial Services by 146.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 969,533 shares of the bank's stock valued at $56,213,000 after acquiring an additional 576,655 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Enterprise Financial Services by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 233,226 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,522,000 after acquiring an additional 30,568 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Enterprise Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,000,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its stake in Enterprise Financial Services by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 125,417 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,272,000 after acquiring an additional 29,159 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on EFSC shares. Weiss Ratings raised Enterprise Financial Services from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. DA Davidson upped their price target on Enterprise Financial Services from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Enterprise Financial Services from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Enterprise Financial Services in a research report on Tuesday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Enterprise Financial Services from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.00.

Enterprise Financial Services Company Profile

Enterprise Financial Services Corp. NASDAQ: EFSC is a bank holding company headquartered in Clayton, Missouri, operating through its primary subsidiary, Enterprise Bank & Trust. The company provides a comprehensive range of banking and financial services to individuals, small- and mid-sized businesses, and institutional clients. Its capabilities encompass deposit products, lending solutions, mortgage banking, and treasury management, supported by a full suite of digital banking tools and personalized client service.

In its commercial banking segment, Enterprise Bank & Trust offers lines of credit, equipment financing, commercial real estate loans, construction lending and agriculture lending.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.