Strs Ohio Invests $489,000 in Enterprise Financial Services Corporation $EFSC

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has acquired 9,100 shares of Enterprise Financial Services Corporation, valued at approximately $489,000, indicating institutional interest in the bank's stock.
• Enterprise Financial Services recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.30 to $0.31, reflecting positive performance and a yield of 2.1%.
• Wall Street analysts have upgraded the company's rating to hold from sell, with three analysts rating the stock as a buy and an average price target of $64.33.

Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Enterprise Financial Services Corporation (NASDAQ:EFSC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,100 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $489,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 51.7% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 775 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,640 shares of the bank's stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Enterprise Financial Services during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Enterprise Financial Services by 9.7% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 6,289 shares of the bank's stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in Enterprise Financial Services by 83.6% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,252 shares of the bank's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.21% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Enterprise Financial Services

In other Enterprise Financial Services news, CEO James Brian Lally sold 1,828 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.16, for a total transaction of $100,832.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,885 shares in the company, valued at $5,564,816.60. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael E. Finn bought 1,500 shares of Enterprise Financial Services stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $54.11 per share, for a total transaction of $81,165.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 3,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $162,330. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Enterprise Financial Services Stock Performance

EFSC stock traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $59.62. 152,937 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 168,103. Enterprise Financial Services Corporation has a 52-week low of $45.22 and a 52-week high of $63.13. The stock has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock's 50-day moving average is $58.33 and its 200 day moving average is $54.96.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $176.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $166.82 million. Enterprise Financial Services had a net margin of 21.28% and a return on equity of 11.19%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Enterprise Financial Services Corporation will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is an increase 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 23.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $64.33.

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.