Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) Short Interest Down 15.2% in February

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on EFSC shares. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of 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 reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 target price (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Enterprise Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Enterprise Financial Services

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enterprise Financial Services

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

Enterprise Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of EFSC stock opened at $56.91 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.08. Enterprise Financial Services has a 52 week low of $37.28 and a 52 week 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 company has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 0.97.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Enterprise Financial Services will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is an increase from Enterprise Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. Enterprise Financial Services’s payout ratio is 23.97%.

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.