Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Sell”

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

A number of other research firms have also commented on EFSC. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Enterprise Financial Services in a research note on Friday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Enterprise Financial Services from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Enterprise Financial Services from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Enterprise Financial Services in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Enterprise Financial Services from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.00.

Enterprise Financial Services Trading Down 0.9%

EFSC opened at $61.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Enterprise Financial Services has a 52 week low of $51.18 and a 52 week high of $68.73. The business’s 50 day moving average is $65.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.25. The firm has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 0.78.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.20). Enterprise Financial Services had a net margin of 18.72% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The firm had revenue of $187.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.15 million. On average, research analysts predict that Enterprise Financial Services will post 5.31 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a positive change from Enterprise Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Enterprise Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.83%.

Institutional Trading of Enterprise Financial Services

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services in the second quarter valued at about $235,007,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Enterprise Financial Services by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,188,766 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $118,435,000 after buying an additional 65,912 shares in the last quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services by 4.9% during 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 grew its holdings in Enterprise Financial Services by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 397,357 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,501,000 after buying an additional 21,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Enterprise Financial Services Corp increased its position in Enterprise Financial Services by 0.3% during the first quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 332,562 shares of the bank’s stock worth $17,995,000 after buying an additional 983 shares in the last quarter. 72.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.