AlphaQuest LLC Boosts Stock Position in Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC)

AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) by 120,363.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,251 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,240 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Enterprise Financial Services were worth $747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EFSC. PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 5,540.0% during the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 39,695,956 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,238,852,000 after acquiring an additional 38,992,127 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 16.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,545,092 shares of the bank’s stock worth $181,721,000 after acquiring an additional 505,552 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services in the fourth quarter worth $7,556,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 566,780 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,966,000 after buying an additional 125,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 1,856.8% in the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 130,869 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,708,000 after buying an additional 124,181 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Enterprise Financial Services from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Enterprise Financial Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Enterprise Financial Services Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of EFSC stock opened at $54.30 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 0.97. 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 52-week low of $37.28 and a 52-week high of $63.13. The business’s fifty day moving average is $58.17 and its 200 day moving average is $55.97.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.14. Enterprise Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 20.12%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Enterprise Financial Services Corp will post 4.97 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Enterprise Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Enterprise Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.97%.

Insider Activity at Enterprise Financial Services

In related news, Director James M. Havel sold 5,525 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $323,046.75. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $903,186.09. This represents a 26.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.