Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) Stock Position Lowered by Kennedy Capital Management LLC

Kennedy Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) by 27.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 127,295 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 47,181 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned 0.34% of Enterprise Financial Services worth $7,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Enterprise Financial Services by 34.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 24,615 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,262,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 42,846 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,196,000 after acquiring an additional 9,345 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth $317,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth $272,000. 72.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on EFSC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Enterprise Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Enterprise Financial Services from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Enterprise Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EFSC opened at $46.20 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $55.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.09. The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 0.84. Enterprise Financial Services Corp has a 12-month low of $37.28 and a 12-month high of $63.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.14. Enterprise Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 20.12%. Equities analysts expect that Enterprise Financial Services Corp will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.29 dividend. This is an increase from Enterprise Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. Enterprise Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Enterprise Financial Services

In other 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 transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

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.