Enterprise Financial Services Corp Lowers Holdings in Enterprise Financial Services Corporation $EFSC

Key Points

• Enterprise Financial Services Corp reduced its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services Corporation by 3.9%, now owning approximately 349,365 shares valued at $18.8 million, making it the company's largest holding.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.31 per share, reflecting a yield of 2.0% and a dividend payout ratio of 23.53%.
• Enterprise Financial Services reported earnings of $1.37 per share for the last quarter, exceeding consensus estimates, with analysts forecasting an average of 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Enterprise Financial Services Corp cut its stake in Enterprise Financial Services Corporation (NASDAQ:EFSC - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 349,365 shares of the bank's stock after selling 14,017 shares during the period. Enterprise Financial Services accounts for 11.1% of Enterprise Financial Services Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Enterprise Financial Services Corp owned about 0.95% of Enterprise Financial Services worth $18,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Enterprise Financial Services by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 6,963 shares of the bank's stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 82,228 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,638,000 after purchasing an additional 4,399 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth $1,072,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 91,886 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,183,000 after purchasing an additional 7,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,215,368 shares of the bank's stock valued at $124,947,000 after purchasing an additional 54,987 shares during the period. 72.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James Brian Lally sold 1,828 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.16, for a total transaction of $100,832.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,564,816.60. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael E. Finn acquired 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $54.11 per share, for a total transaction of $81,165.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $162,330. This represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Enterprise Financial Services Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ EFSC traded down $0.03 during trading on Thursday, hitting $61.65. The company had a trading volume of 132,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 197,691. The company's fifty day moving average is $56.64 and its 200-day moving average is $54.86. Enterprise Financial Services Corporation has a one year low of $45.22 and a one year high of $63.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.90.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The bank reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.17. Enterprise Financial Services had a return on equity of 11.19% and a net margin of 21.28%.The business had revenue of $176.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $166.82 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Enterprise Financial Services Corporation will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Enterprise Financial Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Enterprise Financial Services's payout ratio is presently 22.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EFSC. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Enterprise Financial Services from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Enterprise Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Enterprise Financial Services currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $64.33.

About Enterprise Financial Services

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.