Key Points
- Selig Zises, a director of Esquire Financial, sold 25,000 shares on March 18 at an average of $106.54 (≈$2.6635M) and another 5,000 shares on March 19 at $105.10, cutting his holding by 74.62% to 8,501 shares.
- Esquire Financial recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.20 (annualized $0.80, ~0.8% yield), and analysts hold a consensus Buy rating with an average price target of $120.33 while the stock trades around $105 and has a market cap of about $911M.
Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) Director Richard Powers sold 2,308 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.83, for a total transaction of $241,947.64. Following the sale, the director directly owned 58,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,104,565.39. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.
Esquire Financial Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:ESQ opened at $105.45 on Friday. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.14 and a 1 year high of $134.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $910.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93 and a beta of 0.47. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $107.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.45.
Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.01). Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 30.90%.The business had revenue of $39.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.93 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Esquire Financial Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Esquire Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. Esquire Financial's payout ratio is 13.61%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esquire Financial
Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Esquire Financial by 247.8% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 553 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Esquire Financial by 64.3% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 690 shares of the company's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 352.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 810 shares of the company's stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.66% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
ESQ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Esquire Financial from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Esquire Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $125.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Esquire Financial from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $120.33.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Esquire Financial
About Esquire Financial
(
Get Free Report)
Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc is a bank holding company whose principal subsidiary, Esquire Bank, specializes in residential mortgage lending and community banking services. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, the company operates through multiple distribution channels, including retail branches, wholesale and correspondent lending divisions. Esquire Financial focuses on tailored home financing solutions while maintaining a community-oriented approach to banking.
In its mortgage lending business, Esquire Bank originates and services a range of home loan products, including government-insured mortgages (FHA, VA and USDA) as well as conventional conforming and jumbo loans.
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