Kennedy Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Enterprise Financial Services Corporation $EFSC

Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Enterprise Financial Services Corporation (NASDAQ:EFSC) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 218,512 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,533 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned 0.59% of Enterprise Financial Services worth $11,800,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EFSC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 929.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 638 shares of the bank’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp boosted its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 708 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services by 65.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 812 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Enterprise Financial Services in the 4th quarter worth $99,000. Finally, Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 2,041 shares of the bank’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the period. 72.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Enterprise Financial Services

In other Enterprise Financial Services news, EVP Mark G. Ponder sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.55, for a total transaction of $75,687.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,424,499.30. This represents a 5.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFSC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Enterprise Financial Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Enterprise Financial Services in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Enterprise Financial Services from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Enterprise Financial Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.00.

Enterprise Financial Services Stock Performance

Shares of Enterprise Financial Services stock opened at $64.19 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $59.30 and a 200 day moving average of $57.26. Enterprise Financial Services Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $51.18 and a fifty-two week high of $64.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.01. Enterprise Financial Services had a net margin of 19.81% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The business had revenue of $188.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.02 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Enterprise Financial Services Corporation will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a boost from Enterprise Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Enterprise Financial Services’s payout ratio is currently 24.91%.

Enterprise Financial Services Profile

Enterprise Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ: EFSC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Clayton, Missouri, operating through its primary subsidiary, Enterprise Bank & Trust. The company provides a comprehensive range of banking and financial services to individuals, small- and mid-sized businesses, and institutional clients. Its capabilities encompass deposit products, lending solutions, mortgage banking, and treasury management, supported by a full suite of digital banking tools and personalized client service.

In its commercial banking segment, Enterprise Bank & Trust offers lines of credit, equipment financing, commercial real estate loans, construction lending and agriculture lending.