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

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.01), Zacks reports. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 31.26% and a return on equity of 18.55%.

Esquire Financial Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Esquire Financial stock traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $109.18. The company had a trading volume of 8,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 48,770. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.73. The stock has a market cap of $935.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.21 and a beta of 0.43. Esquire Financial has a 12-month low of $68.90 and a 12-month high of $134.82.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.175 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 12.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 17.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 5,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 806 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 9.6% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 33.6% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 24.8% in the third quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 3,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Esquire Financial by 3.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Esquire Financial from $113.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Esquire Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.00.

Esquire Financial Company Profile

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.