Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director James M. Havel sold 5,525 shares of Enterprise Financial Services stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 15,447 shares in the company, valued at $903,186.09. The trade was a 26.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enterprise Financial Services

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. PL Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Enterprise Financial Services by 5,540.0% in the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 39,695,956 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,238,852,000 after purchasing an additional 38,992,127 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,215,368 shares of the bank’s stock worth $124,947,000 after buying an additional 54,987 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,089,008 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $117,820,000 after buying an additional 13,724 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position 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 period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.21% of the company’s stock.

Enterprise Financial Services Stock Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:EFSC opened at $52.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.07. Enterprise Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $37.28 and a fifty-two week high of $63.13.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.14. Enterprise Financial Services had a net margin of 20.12% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The business had revenue of $18.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $162.83 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Enterprise Financial Services will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EFSC shares. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Enterprise Financial Services from $69.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday.

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.