Phocas Financial Corp. Cuts Stake in Enterprise Financial Services Corporation (NASDAQ:EFSC)

Phocas Financial Corp. lessened its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services Corporation (NASDAQ:EFSC - Free Report) by 5.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 131,078 shares of the bank's stock after selling 7,420 shares during the quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. owned 0.35% of Enterprise Financial Services worth $7,044,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services by 51.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 775 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,873 shares of the bank's stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 27,696 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,629,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 4.1% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,640 shares of the bank's stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 5,714 shares of the bank's stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Enterprise Financial Services

In other Enterprise Financial Services news, CEO James Brian Lally sold 4,689 shares of Enterprise Financial Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.18, for a total value of $258,739.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 106,974 shares in the company, valued at $5,902,825.32. The trade was a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael E. Finn bought 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $52.50 per share, with a total value of $78,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $78,750. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,572 shares of company stock worth $472,667. Insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFSC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Enterprise Financial Services from $69.00 to $66.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a 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 note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Enterprise Financial Services from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th.

Enterprise Financial Services Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of Enterprise Financial Services stock opened at $53.81 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $55.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.03. Enterprise Financial Services Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $45.22 and a fifty-two week high of $63.13. The firm has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 0.90.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $176.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $166.82 million. Enterprise Financial Services had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 21.28%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Enterprise Financial Services Corporation will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. 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 payout ratio is 22.77%.

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.

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