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

Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 738,000 shares, a drop of 14.5% from the March 31st total of 863,400 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 243,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Enterprise Financial Services Stock Performance

EFSC stock opened at $52.95 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.09. 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 has a 12-month low of $37.28 and a 12-month high of $63.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 0.84.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.14. Enterprise Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 20.12%. The firm had revenue of $18.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $162.83 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Enterprise Financial Services will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. This is a boost from Enterprise Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Enterprise Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Enterprise Financial Services news, Director James M. Havel sold 5,525 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $323,046.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $903,186.09. This represents a 26.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enterprise Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 437.4% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 23,223 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,310,000 after acquiring an additional 18,902 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 94.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 46,727 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,391,000 after purchasing an additional 22,739 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 557,875 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,597,000 after purchasing an additional 29,747 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $117,820,000 after purchasing an additional 13,724 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 74,195 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,185,000 after buying an additional 20,033 shares during the last quarter. 72.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFSC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Enterprise Financial Services from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Enterprise Financial Services from $69.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th.

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.