Phocas Financial Corp. Purchases 24,785 Shares of Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC)

Phocas Financial Corp. increased its position in Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC - Free Report) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 138,498 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 24,785 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp. owned about 0.37% of Enterprise Financial Services worth $7,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,095 shares of the bank's stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in Enterprise Financial Services by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 27,696 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,629,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,233 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,762,000 after buying an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd increased its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 5,714 shares of the bank's stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the period. 72.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Enterprise Financial Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ EFSC traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $53.14. 198,777 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 181,101. The company has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $51.72 and a 200 day moving average of $55.97. Enterprise Financial Services Corp has a 12-month low of $37.31 and a 12-month high of $63.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.14. Enterprise Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 20.12%. The firm had revenue of $18.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $162.83 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Enterprise Financial Services Corp will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is an increase from Enterprise Financial Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Enterprise Financial Services's payout ratio is 23.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Enterprise Financial Services from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Enterprise Financial Services

In other news, CEO James Brian Lally sold 4,689 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.18, for a total transaction of $258,739.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,902,825.32. This represents a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Enterprise Financial Services Company 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.