Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.01, Zacks reports. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 18.87% and a net margin of 30.96%.The company had revenue of $36.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.21 million.

Esquire Financial Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ ESQ opened at $102.50 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.07. The company has a market capitalization of $875.35 million, a PE ratio of 18.91 and a beta of 0.53. Esquire Financial has a 12 month low of $63.00 and a 12 month high of $107.25.

Insider Transactions at Esquire Financial

In related news, Director Selig Zises sold 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.71, for a total value of $1,695,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,094,009.71. This represents a 44.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph Melohn sold 1,326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $132,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 136,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,653,100. This represents a 0.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,326 shares of company stock valued at $3,403,470 in the last quarter. 18.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESQ. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 215.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 81,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,113,000 after buying an additional 55,367 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 99.2% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 25,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,434,000 after buying an additional 12,802 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial during the second quarter worth about $860,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial during the second quarter worth about $649,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 70.5% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 16,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,530,000 after buying an additional 6,629 shares during the period. 54.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ESQ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered Esquire Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.50.

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.