Sterling Capital Management LLC Grows Position in Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,577 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,039 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Enterprise Financial Services were worth $597,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Enterprise Financial Services by 5,540.0% in the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 39,695,956 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,238,852,000 after purchasing an additional 38,992,127 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,089,008 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $117,820,000 after buying an additional 13,724 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 892,030 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,734,000 after acquiring an additional 8,180 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 847,939 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,824,000 after buying an additional 96,822 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 694,316 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,159,000 after buying an additional 16,922 shares during the last quarter. 72.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EFSC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated 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. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Enterprise Financial Services from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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 stock was sold at an average price of $58.47, for a total value of $323,046.75. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Enterprise Financial Services Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EFSC opened at $48.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business’s 50 day moving average is $54.88 and its 200 day moving average is $55.97. The stock has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.04 and a beta of 0.84. Enterprise Financial Services Corp has a 52-week low of $37.28 and a 52-week high of $63.13.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.14. Enterprise Financial Services had a net margin of 20.12% and a return on equity of 10.94%. Sell-side analysts predict that Enterprise Financial Services Corp will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. This is a positive change from Enterprise Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Enterprise Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.97%.

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.