Enterprise Financial Services Corporation (NASDAQ:EFSC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Enterprise Financial Services Corporation (NASDAQ:EFSC) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $66.00.

Several research analysts have recently commented on EFSC shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Enterprise Financial Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Enterprise Financial Services from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Enterprise Financial Services in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Enterprise Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd.

Enterprise Financial Services Stock Down 0.1%

Enterprise Financial Services stock opened at $62.72 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Enterprise Financial Services has a twelve month low of $51.18 and a twelve month high of $64.56. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $59.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.37.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.01. Enterprise Financial Services had a net margin of 19.81% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The firm had revenue of $188.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.02 million. As a group, analysts expect that Enterprise Financial Services will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a boost from Enterprise Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Enterprise Financial Services’s payout ratio is 25.66%.

Insider Activity at Enterprise Financial Services

In other news, EVP Mark G. Ponder sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.55, for a total transaction of $75,687.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,424,499.30. This trade represents a 5.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFSC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Enterprise Financial Services by 929.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 638 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp increased its stake in Enterprise Financial Services by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 708 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Enterprise Financial Services by 65.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 812 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Enterprise Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $99,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in Enterprise Financial Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $109,000. 72.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Enterprise Financial Services

Enterprise Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ: EFSC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Clayton, Missouri, operating through its primary subsidiary, Enterprise Bank & Trust. The company provides a comprehensive range of banking and financial services to individuals, small- and mid-sized businesses, and institutional clients. Its capabilities encompass deposit products, lending solutions, mortgage banking, and treasury management, supported by a full suite of digital banking tools and personalized client service.

In its commercial banking segment, Enterprise Bank & Trust offers lines of credit, equipment financing, commercial real estate loans, construction lending and agriculture lending.