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

Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 412,500 shares, a decline of 14.6% from the January 15th total of 483,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 171,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Enterprise Financial Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ EFSC opened at $60.87 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $58.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. Enterprise Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $37.28 and a fifty-two week high of $63.13. The stock has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 0.99.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.14. Enterprise Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 20.12%. On average, equities analysts expect that Enterprise Financial Services will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Enterprise Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Enterprise Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enterprise Financial Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Creative Planning lifted its position in Enterprise Financial Services by 18.4% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 43,832 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,247,000 after purchasing an additional 6,802 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services by 55.7% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 10,317 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 3,691 shares in the last quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Enterprise Financial Services in the third quarter worth $267,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,873 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, F M Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 218,978 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,835 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on EFSC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (up from $68.00) on shares of Enterprise Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Enterprise Financial Services from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Enterprise Financial Services from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

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.