First Manhattan CO. LLC. Takes Position in Enterprise Financial Services Corporation $EFSC

Key Points

• First Manhattan CO. LLC invested approximately $2.31 million in Enterprise Financial Services Corporation by acquiring 42,917 shares, representing a 0.12% stake as of its latest SEC filing.
• Enterprise Financial Services reported a quarterly earnings of $1.37 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, with projected earnings of 4.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.31 per share, reflecting a 2.0% dividend yield, with the ex-dividend date set for September 15th.

First Manhattan CO. LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services Corporation (NASDAQ:EFSC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 42,917 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $2,306,000. First Manhattan CO. LLC. owned approximately 0.12% of Enterprise Financial Services as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 51.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 775 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,640 shares of the bank's stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 6,289 shares of the bank's stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 554 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 83.6% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,252 shares of the bank's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.21% of the company's stock.

Enterprise Financial Services Trading Down 0.5%

EFSC stock traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $60.38. 23,698 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 194,901. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $57.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.45 and a beta of 0.92. Enterprise Financial Services Corporation has a one year low of $45.22 and a one year high of $63.13.

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

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This is a boost from Enterprise Financial Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Enterprise Financial Services's payout ratio is currently 22.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at Enterprise Financial Services

In other Enterprise Financial Services news, Director Michael E. Finn acquired 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 3,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $162,330. This represents a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Brian Lally sold 1,828 shares of the company'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 value of $100,832.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,564,816.60. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale 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.