Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $89.48 and last traded at $88.43, with a volume of 5531 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $86.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ESQ shares. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price target (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Esquire Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $741.10 million, a PE ratio of 17.92 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $78.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.91.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Selig Zises sold 8,000 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.77, for a total value of $614,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,805,878.77. The trade was a 11.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Melohn sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.15, for a total value of $237,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,683 shares in the company, valued at $291,509.45. This represents a 44.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Esquire Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Esquire Financial by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the third quarter worth about $54,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the third quarter worth about $64,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in Esquire Financial by 14.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $151,000. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Esquire Financial Company Profile

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Esquire Bank, National Association that provides commercial banking products and services to legal industry and small businesses, and commercial and retail customers in the United States. The company offers checking, savings, money market, and time deposits, as well as certificates of deposit.