Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) Increases Dividend to $0.30 Per Share

Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, April 25th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of 0.30 per share by the bank on Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This is a 3.4% increase from Enterprise Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29.

Enterprise Financial Services has a payout ratio of 22.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Enterprise Financial Services to earn $5.25 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.9%.

Enterprise Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of EFSC stock opened at $52.30 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $51.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.45. The stock has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a PE ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 0.86. Enterprise Financial Services has a 1 year low of $37.31 and a 1 year high of $63.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $18.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $162.83 million. Enterprise Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 20.12%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Enterprise Financial Services will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Enterprise Financial Services from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Enterprise Financial Services from $69.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Enterprise Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James Brian Lally sold 4,689 shares of Enterprise Financial Services stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.18, for a total value of $258,739.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,902,825.32. The trade was a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael E. Finn acquired 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $52.50 per share, with a total value of $78,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,750. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enterprise Financial Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 10.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 106,398 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,718,000 after purchasing an additional 9,816 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Enterprise Financial Services by 14.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 58,539 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,146,000 after acquiring an additional 7,419 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 46.1% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 25,082 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 7,909 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 3.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 21,762 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,169,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 25.1% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,398 shares of the bank’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares in the last quarter. 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.