Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) Short Interest Update

Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large 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 Performance

EFSC stock traded up $0.32 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $48.05. The company had a trading volume of 141,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 174,807. 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 has a twelve month low of $37.28 and a twelve month high of $63.13. The company has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.04.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Enterprise Financial Services will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. This is a boost from Enterprise Financial Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Enterprise Financial Services's payout ratio is presently 23.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EFSC has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price target (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Enterprise Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. DA Davidson lifted their price target 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James M. Havel sold 5,525 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $903,186.09. The trade was a 26.34 % 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 link. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Enterprise Financial Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Enterprise Financial Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,640 shares of the bank's stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Enterprise Financial Services during the first quarter worth approximately $50,000. Vest Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Enterprise Financial Services in the 1st quarter worth $3,423,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 61,908 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,327,000 after buying an additional 2,924 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.21% of the company's stock.

Enterprise Financial Services Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.