Earnest Partners LLC Reduces Position in Enterprise Financial Services Corporation $EFSC

Key Points

• Earnest Partners LLC reduced its stake in Enterprise Financial Services Corporation by 1.9%, now holding approximately 5.00% of the company's shares worth $99.3 million.
• Enterprise Financial Services announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.30 to $0.31, resulting in a 2.0% yield for investors.
• The company reported earnings of $1.37 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a consensus target price now at $64.33.

Earnest Partners LLC lowered its stake in Enterprise Financial Services Corporation (NASDAQ:EFSC - Free Report) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,848,381 shares of the bank's stock after selling 34,974 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC owned about 5.00% of Enterprise Financial Services worth $99,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Enterprise Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $260,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Enterprise Financial Services by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 184,823 shares of the bank's stock valued at $9,932,000 after purchasing an additional 17,916 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Enterprise Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Enterprise Financial Services by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 911,911 shares of the bank's stock valued at $49,006,000 after purchasing an additional 63,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in Enterprise Financial Services by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 44,649 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,374 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.21% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised Enterprise Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $64.33.

Enterprise Financial Services Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of EFSC traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $61.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 157,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,965. Enterprise Financial Services Corporation has a 12-month low of $45.22 and a 12-month high of $63.13. The stock has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company's 50 day moving average is $56.99 and its 200 day moving average is $54.78.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The bank reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $166.82 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Enterprise Financial Services Corporation will post 4.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This is an increase from Enterprise Financial Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Enterprise Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.77%.

Insider Transactions at Enterprise Financial Services

In other news, CEO James Brian Lally sold 1,828 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.16, for a total value of $100,832.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,564,816.60. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael E. Finn purchased 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $54.11 per share, for a total transaction of $81,165.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $162,330. The trade was a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Enterprise Financial Services 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.