Enterprise Financial Services Corporation (NASDAQ:EFSC) Holdings Cut by Phocas Financial Corp.

Key Points

• Phocas Financial Corp. reduced its stake in Enterprise Financial Services Corporation by 5.4%, now owning 131,078 shares valued at approximately $7 million.
• Enterprise Financial Services recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.30 to $0.31, representing an annualized yield of 2.3% for shareholders.
• Following several analyst reports, the price targets for Enterprise Financial Services shares were adjusted, with a downgrade by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $69.00 to $66.00 while maintaining an "outperform" rating.

Phocas Financial Corp. lowered its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services Corporation (NASDAQ:EFSC - Free Report) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 131,078 shares of the bank's stock after selling 7,420 shares during the quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. owned approximately 0.35% of Enterprise Financial Services worth $7,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position 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 during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Enterprise Financial Services by 302.5% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 793 shares of the bank's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Enterprise Financial Services in the first quarter worth $50,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in Enterprise Financial Services by 83.6% in the first 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on EFSC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Enterprise Financial Services from $69.00 to $66.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. DA Davidson dropped 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 research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Enterprise Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th.

Enterprise Financial Services Price Performance

EFSC traded down $0.32 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $54.95. The stock had a trading volume of 29,868 shares, compared to its average volume of 204,095. Enterprise Financial Services Corporation has a 1-year low of $45.22 and a 1-year high of $63.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $55.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $176.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $166.82 million. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is a positive change from Enterprise Financial Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Enterprise Financial Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.77%.

Insider Activity at Enterprise Financial Services

In related news, CEO James Brian Lally sold 4,689 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owned 106,974 shares in the company, valued at $5,902,825.32. This trade represents a 4.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael E. Finn acquired 1,500 shares of Enterprise Financial Services stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $54.11 per share, with a total value 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,572 shares of company stock worth $472,667. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.