Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 5,002 Shares of Enterprise Financial Services Corporation $EFSC

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Enterprise Financial Services Corporation by 5.9%, acquiring an additional 5,002 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 0.24% valued at $4.85 million.
• Enterprise Financial Services recently reported a quarterly earnings of $1.37 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenues of $176.05 million for the quarter.
• The company plans to increase its quarterly dividend from $0.30 to $0.31 per share, reflecting a positive change in its dividend policy and a yield of 2.2%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services Corporation (NASDAQ:EFSC - Free Report) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,337 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 5,002 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.24% of Enterprise Financial Services worth $4,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted 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 purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services during the 1st quarter worth $50,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 83.6% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,252 shares of the bank's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Enterprise Financial Services

In related news, Director Michael E. Finn acquired 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $54.11 per share, with a total value of $81,165.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $162,330. The trade was a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Brian Lally sold 1,828 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.16, for a total value of $100,832.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,564,816.60. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Enterprise Financial Services Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of EFSC traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $61.68. 127,923 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 144,499. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. 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 $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day moving average of $56.64 and a 200-day moving average of $54.86.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.17. The firm 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%. Analysts expect that Enterprise Financial Services Corporation will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Enterprise Financial Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Enterprise Financial Services's payout ratio is presently 22.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Enterprise Financial Services from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Enterprise Financial Services from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Enterprise Financial Services from $69.00 to $66.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $64.33.

About Enterprise Financial Services

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.