Short Interest in Enterprise Financial Services Corporation (NASDAQ:EFSC) Grows By 23.3%

Key Points

• Short interest in EFSC rose 23.3% to 752,497 shares as of March 31, equal to about 2.1% of shares sold short and a days-to-cover of 1.9 based on average volume.
• Enterprise Financial Services raised its quarterly dividend to $0.33 ($1.32 annualized), up from $0.32, implying a 2.3% yield and a 24.86% payout ratio.
• Analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a $66 price target (recent targets raised to $64 and $68), while EFSC trades near $57.33 with a market cap of $2.11 billion and a P/E of 10.8.

Enterprise Financial Services Corporation (NASDAQ:EFSC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 752,497 shares, an increase of 23.3% from the March 15th total of 610,403 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 394,110 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enterprise Financial Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFSC. Jag Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 1.7% in the third quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 11,336 shares of the bank's stock worth $657,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp grew its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 708 shares of the bank's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,890 shares of the bank's stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 17.4% in the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 2,041 shares of the bank's stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 65.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 812 shares of the bank's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.21% of the company's stock.

Enterprise Financial Services Stock Performance

EFSC stock traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $57.33. 156,700 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 230,372. Enterprise Financial Services has a twelve month low of $47.56 and a twelve month high of $62.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 0.79.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.01). Enterprise Financial Services had a net margin of 20.15% and a return on equity of 10.57%. The company had revenue of $190.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.54 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Enterprise Financial Services will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Enterprise Financial Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Enterprise Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is 24.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Enterprise Financial Services from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Enterprise Financial Services from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Enterprise Financial Services from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.00.

About Enterprise Financial Services

Enterprise Financial Services Corp. NASDAQ: EFSC is a bank holding company headquartered in Clayton, Missouri, operating through its primary subsidiary, Enterprise Bank & Trust. The company provides a comprehensive range of banking and financial services to individuals, small- and mid-sized businesses, and institutional clients. Its capabilities encompass deposit products, lending solutions, mortgage banking, and treasury management, supported by a full suite of digital banking tools and personalized client service.

In its commercial banking segment, Enterprise Bank & Trust offers lines of credit, equipment financing, commercial real estate loans, construction lending and agriculture lending.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.