4 Reasons to Bet on Enterprise Financial (EFSC) Stock Now

Enterprise Financial Services Corp EFSC looks like an attractive investment option right now, given its strong fundamentals and good growth prospects. It has been witnessing upward earnings estimate revisions of late, reflecting analysts’ optimism regarding its earnings growth potential.

The company’s Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in 2019 has been revised 3.4% upward over the past 60 days. The stock currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

The company’s price performance also looks impressive. Its shares have rallied 8.9% over the past three months.

Enterprise Financial has a number of other aspects that make it a solid pick right now.

Earnings per Share (EPS) Strength: Enterprise Financial witnessed EPS growth of 22.7% over the last three to five years, higher than the industry average of 12.1%. This momentum is expected to continue in the near term as evident from its projected EPS growth rate of 3.9% and 10% for 2019, and 2020, respectively.

Further, the company’s long-term (three to five years) expected EPS growth rate of 9% promises rewards for shareholders.

Revenue Growth: Enterprise Financial’s revenues witnessed a CAGR of 14.5% over the last five years (2014-2018). Further, the top line is expected to increase 25.2% in 2019, higher than the industry average of 6.9%.

Superior Return on Equity (ROE): Enterprise Financial has an ROE of 14.71%, which is better than the industry average of 11.31%. This shows that the company reinvests its cash more efficiently than peers.

Stock Looks Undervalued: If we compare the company’s price-to-earnings (P/E) and PEG ratios with the respective industry averages, the stock appears undervalued. Its P/E (F1) and PEG ratios are 11.7 and 1.3, below the respective industry averages of 12.0 and 1.5.

Other Key Picks

Some other top-ranked stocks from the finance space are Civista Bancshares, Inc. CIVB, Evercore Inc. EVR and Stifel Financial Corp. SF.

Over the past 30 days, Civista Bancshares witnessed an upward earnings estimate revision of 4.6% for 2019. Its share price has increased 7.6% over the past three months. The stock currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Evercore currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). It has witnessed an upward earnings estimate revision of 5% for the current year over the past 30 days. Its shares have gained 19.2% in the past three months.

Stifel Financial presently flaunts a Zacks Rank #1. Its earnings estimates have been revised upward by nearly 6.9% over the past 30 days. Its shares have rallied 19.8% in the past three months.

Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential

The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.

Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +98%, +119% and +164% in as little as 1 month. The stocks in this report could perform even better.

See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>>


Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
Civista Bancshares, Inc. (CIVB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Enterprise Financial Services Corporation (EFSC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Stifel Financial Corporation (SF) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Evercore Inc (EVR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research