Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on EFSC. Stephens began coverage on shares of Enterprise Financial Services in a research report on Friday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Enterprise Financial Services from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Enterprise Financial Services from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Enterprise Financial Services in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their target price on Enterprise Financial Services from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Enterprise Financial Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.00.

Enterprise Financial Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EFSC opened at $60.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Enterprise Financial Services has a fifty-two week low of $51.18 and a fifty-two week high of $68.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.30.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $187.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.15 million. Enterprise Financial Services had a net margin of 18.72% and a return on equity of 9.70%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Enterprise Financial Services will post 5.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Financial Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Enterprise Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Enterprise Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enterprise Financial Services

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EFSC. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $235,007,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 3.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,188,766 shares of the bank’s stock worth $118,435,000 after purchasing an additional 65,912 shares during the period. PL Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Enterprise Financial Services by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 733,329 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,600,000 after buying an additional 34,500 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Enterprise Financial Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $22,714,000. Finally, Enterprise Financial Services Corp increased its stake in Enterprise Financial Services by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 332,562 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $17,995,000 after buying an additional 983 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.21% of the company’s stock.

Enterprise Financial Services Company Profile

Enterprise Financial Services Corp. is a financial holding company headquartered in Clayton, Missouri. Through its principal subsidiary, Enterprise Bank & Trust, the company provides banking and wealth management services to businesses, professionals, individuals and families.

Enterprise Bank & Trust offers commercial and personal deposit accounts, loans, lines of credit, treasury management, cash management, online banking and other financial services. Its commercial banking activities include lending to operating companies, commercial real estate borrowers and small businesses, while its wealth management business provides investment management, trust, financial planning and related services.

Founded in 1990, the company serves clients through banking and wealth management operations in Missouri, Kansas, Arizona and New Mexico.