Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a report on Friday, July 25th.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ESQ opened at $96.98 on Friday. Esquire Financial has a 1-year low of $56.78 and a 1-year high of $106.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $95.93 and a 200-day moving average of $86.65. The company has a market capitalization of $828.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.89 and a beta of 0.57.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.38. The company had revenue of ($24.94) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.26 million. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 18.87% and a net margin of 30.96%. Research analysts expect that Esquire Financial will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Selig Zises sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.38, for a total transaction of $476,900.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,813,805.38. This trade represents a 14.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 18.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $51,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 151.0% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 788 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 631 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $106,000. Institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

About Esquire Financial

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.