Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC – Get Rating) in a research report released on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

Separately, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Enterprise Financial Services from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Enterprise Financial Services presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $56.67.

Enterprise Financial Services Trading Down 3.6 %

EFSC opened at $46.76 on Thursday. Enterprise Financial Services has a one year low of $39.63 and a one year high of $56.35. The company has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.79 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.05.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 24th. The bank reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $173.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.42 million. Enterprise Financial Services had a return on equity of 14.48% and a net margin of 35.36%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Enterprise Financial Services will post 5.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. This is an increase from Enterprise Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Enterprise Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Enterprise Financial Services

In other news, Director Richard Sanborn sold 53,338 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.09, for a total value of $2,778,376.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Enterprise Financial Services news, Director Lyne Andrich acquired 1,840 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $54.35 per share, for a total transaction of $100,004.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $125,113.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard Sanborn sold 53,338 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.09, for a total transaction of $2,778,376.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 98,338 shares of company stock valued at $5,220,976. 5.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Enterprise Financial Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EFSC. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services by 48.8% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 723 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 29.5% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 2,020 shares of the bank’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.87% of the company’s stock.

Enterprise Financial Services Company Profile

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Enterprise Financial Services Corp. operates as a financial holding company. The firm engages in the provision of business and personal banking services and wealth management services. It also offers lending services which include commercial and industrial commercial real estate, real estate construction and development, residential real estate and consumer loans.