Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Sees Strong Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $85.00 to $91.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. 170,318 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 107% from the previous session’s volume of 82,245 shares.The stock last traded at $85.08 and had previously closed at $84.26.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Raymond James downgraded Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $85.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Monday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Selig Zises sold 8,000 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 62,601 shares in the company, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Rena Nigam purchased 640 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $77.50 per share, for a total transaction of $49,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $144,692.50. This represents a 52.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Esquire Financial

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

Esquire Financial Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $708.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.13 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $79.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.26.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.01). Esquire Financial had a net margin of 31.38% and a return on equity of 19.53%. Analysts expect that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.18 EPS for the current year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.07%.

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.