Short Interest in Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) Increases By 6.9%

Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) saw a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 395,400 shares, a growth of 6.9% from the July 31st total of 369,800 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 191,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Enterprise Financial Services Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:EFSC opened at $38.71 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.85 and a beta of 1.08. Enterprise Financial Services has a one year low of $36.16 and a one year high of $56.35. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 24th. The bank reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29. Enterprise Financial Services had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 30.42%. The business had revenue of $202.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $152.24 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Enterprise Financial Services will post 5.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Financial Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. Enterprise Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on EFSC. StockNews.com upgraded Enterprise Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 25th. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Enterprise Financial Services in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enterprise Financial Services

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services by 48.8% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 723 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Enterprise Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services by 92.8% in the first quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 1,049 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services by 240.7% in the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,046 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Enterprise Financial Services Company Profile

Enterprise Financial Services Corp operates as the financial holding company for Enterprise Bank & Trust that offers banking and wealth management services to individuals and corporate customers. It offers checking, savings, and money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, construction and land development, residential real estate, agricultural, and consumer loans.