Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) Short Interest Up 91.9% in March

Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 863,400 shares, an increase of 91.9% from the March 15th total of 449,900 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 235,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Enterprise Financial Services Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of EFSC traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $48.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 160,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 175,287. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.04 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50-day moving average is $54.88 and its 200-day moving average is $55.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Enterprise Financial Services has a 52-week low of $37.28 and a 52-week high of $63.13.

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

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. This is a positive change from Enterprise Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Enterprise Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFSC has been the topic of a number of research reports. 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 research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of Enterprise Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James M. Havel sold 5,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 15,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $903,186.09. This represents a 26.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EFSC. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Enterprise Financial Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth $50,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in Enterprise Financial Services by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the bank’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 653 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in Enterprise Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $191,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.21% 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.