Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) Declares Dividend Increase – $0.25 Per Share

Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC – Get Rating) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, January 23rd, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share by the bank on Friday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. This is an increase from Enterprise Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24.

Enterprise Financial Services has raised its dividend by an average of 13.2% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 5 years. Enterprise Financial Services has a payout ratio of 16.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Enterprise Financial Services to earn $5.65 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.0%.

Enterprise Financial Services Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Enterprise Financial Services stock opened at $52.17 on Wednesday. Enterprise Financial Services has a 1 year low of $39.63 and a 1 year high of $54.31. The business has a 50-day moving average of $49.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.04. The company has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.37 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 24th. The bank reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $173.61 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $142.42 million. Enterprise Financial Services had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 35.36%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Enterprise Financial Services will post 5.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard Sanborn sold 24,552 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total value of $1,279,159.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 80,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,196,759.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 5.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Enterprise Financial Services

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EFSC. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 48.8% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 723 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 29.5% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 2,020 shares of the bank’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC bought a new position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services during the first quarter worth approximately $231,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 5.0% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,513 shares of the bank’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 8.1% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,354 shares of the bank’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. 68.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on EFSC shares. DA Davidson raised Enterprise Financial Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 26th. Raymond James increased their price target on Enterprise Financial Services from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 26th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Enterprise Financial Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.33.

About Enterprise Financial Services

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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. The company offers checking, savings, and money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. It also provides commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, construction and land development, residential real estate, agricultural, and consumer loans.