Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) Upgraded to Hold at Stephens

Stephens upgraded shares of Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on EFSC. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Enterprise Financial Services from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Enterprise Financial Services from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Enterprise Financial Services from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered Enterprise Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Enterprise Financial Services in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.00.

Enterprise Financial Services Stock Performance

Enterprise Financial Services stock opened at $61.60 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $65.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.25. Enterprise Financial Services has a 52-week low of $51.18 and a 52-week high of $68.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 0.78.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.20). Enterprise Financial Services had a net margin of 18.72% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The firm had revenue of $187.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.15 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Enterprise Financial Services will post 5.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This is an increase from Enterprise Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Enterprise Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

Institutional Trading of Enterprise Financial Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services during the second quarter worth approximately $509,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its stake in Enterprise Financial Services by 221.4% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 16,037 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after acquiring an additional 11,047 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in Enterprise Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth $1,452,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in Enterprise Financial Services during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $955,000. 72.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Enterprise Financial Services

Enterprise Financial Services Corp. is a financial holding company headquartered in Clayton, Missouri. Through its principal subsidiary, Enterprise Bank & Trust, the company provides banking and wealth management services to businesses, professionals, individuals and families.

Enterprise Bank & Trust offers commercial and personal deposit accounts, loans, lines of credit, treasury management, cash management, online banking and other financial services. Its commercial banking activities include lending to operating companies, commercial real estate borrowers and small businesses, while its wealth management business provides investment management, trust, financial planning and related services.

Founded in 1990, the company serves clients through banking and wealth management operations in Missouri, Kansas, Arizona and New Mexico.