Phocas Financial Corp. Sells 92,699 Shares of Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC)

Phocas Financial Corp. lessened its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC - Free Report) by 81.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,014 shares of the bank's stock after selling 92,699 shares during the quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. owned about 0.06% of Enterprise Financial Services worth $1,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in Enterprise Financial Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 2,593.5% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 835 shares of the bank's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 804 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services during the third quarter worth about $102,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 34.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the bank's stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services during the fourth quarter worth about $191,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on EFSC shares. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Enterprise Financial Services from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Enterprise Financial Services in a report on Wednesday, January 29th.

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Enterprise Financial Services Price Performance

EFSC traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $59.08. The stock had a trading volume of 190,481 shares, compared to its average volume of 166,892. The company has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $58.19 and a 200 day moving average of $55.56. 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 Corp has a 1 year low of $37.28 and a 1 year high of $63.13.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts forecast that Enterprise Financial Services Corp will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. This is a positive change from Enterprise Financial Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Enterprise Financial Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.97%.

Enterprise Financial Services 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.