Vest Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 63,702 Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC)

Vest Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 63,702 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $3,423,000. Vest Financial LLC owned 0.17% of Enterprise Financial Services as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 5,540.0% during the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 39,695,956 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,238,852,000 after acquiring an additional 38,992,127 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,215,368 shares of the bank's stock valued at $124,947,000 after acquiring an additional 54,987 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,089,008 shares of the bank's stock valued at $117,820,000 after acquiring an additional 13,724 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 847,939 shares of the bank's stock valued at $47,824,000 after acquiring an additional 96,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 694,316 shares of the bank's stock valued at $39,159,000 after acquiring an additional 16,922 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on EFSC. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Enterprise Financial Services from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Enterprise Financial Services from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on 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.

Enterprise Financial Services Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ EFSC traded up $1.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $52.88. 127,509 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 182,662. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 0.86. Enterprise Financial Services Corp has a twelve month low of $37.31 and a twelve month high of $63.13. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.69.

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

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders 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. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Enterprise Financial Services's payout ratio is currently 23.53%.

Insider Transactions at Enterprise Financial Services

In related 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 transaction of $258,739.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 is accessible 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.