Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) Short Interest Update

Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 382,200 shares, a drop of 15.2% from the February 13th total of 450,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 160,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EFSC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Enterprise Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Enterprise Financial Services from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Enterprise Financial Services Price Performance

EFSC opened at $56.45 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.07. The firm has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 0.97. Enterprise Financial Services has a twelve month low of $37.28 and a twelve month high of $63.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.14. Enterprise Financial Services had a net margin of 20.12% and a return on equity of 10.94%. Equities research analysts expect that Enterprise Financial Services will post 4.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a positive change from Enterprise Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Enterprise Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Enterprise Financial Services news, Director James M. Havel sold 5,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total transaction of $323,046.75. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $903,186.09. This trade represents a 26.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,338 shares of the bank’s stock worth $414,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. boosted its holdings in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 138,498 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,811,000 after buying an additional 24,785 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 974.2% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 4,823 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 4,374 shares during the period. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 38.0% in the 4th quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 32,696 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,844,000 after buying an additional 9,000 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 96,582 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,447,000 after buying an additional 9,076 shares during the period. 72.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.