Short Interest in Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) Decreases By 15.2%

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

Enterprise Financial Services Trading Down 2.2 %

EFSC opened at $55.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 0.97. Enterprise Financial Services has a 12 month low of $37.28 and a 12 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $58.19 and a 200 day moving average of $56.08.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Enterprise Financial Services will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. This is an increase from Enterprise Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Enterprise Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson increased their price target on Enterprise Financial Services from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Enterprise Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $323,046.75. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $903,186.09. This trade represents a 26.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Enterprise Financial Services

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Enterprise Financial Services by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,095 shares of the bank’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,873 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 27,696 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,629,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,233 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,762,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd raised its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 5,714 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.21% of the company’s stock.

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.