Rafferty Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:EFSC) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,706 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 2,921 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.08% of Enterprise Financial Services worth $1,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in EFSC. PL Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 5,540.0% in the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 39,695,956 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,238,852,000 after purchasing an additional 38,992,127 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Enterprise Financial Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,556,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 566,780 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,966,000 after purchasing an additional 125,150 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 430,662 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $24,289,000 after purchasing an additional 107,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Enterprise Financial Services by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 847,939 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,824,000 after purchasing an additional 96,822 shares in the last quarter. 72.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Enterprise Financial Services Trading Down 0.2%

EFSC opened at $54.44 on Wednesday. Enterprise Financial Services Corp has a one year low of $37.28 and a one year high of $63.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $52.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.14. Enterprise Financial Services had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 20.12%. The firm had revenue of $18.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $162.83 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This is a boost from Enterprise Financial Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. Enterprise Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.53%.

Insider Activity at Enterprise Financial Services

In other Enterprise Financial Services news, CEO James Brian Lally sold 4,689 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.18, for a total transaction of $258,739.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,974 shares in the company, valued at $5,902,825.32. This represents a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James M. Havel sold 5,525 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now owns 15,447 shares in the company, valued at $903,186.09. This trade represents a 26.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,614 shares of company stock worth $603,790. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Enterprise Financial Services from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Enterprise Financial Services from $69.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th.

About Enterprise Financial Services

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.