Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Director Sells $241,947.64 in Stock

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Director Richard Powers sold 2,308 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.83, for a total transaction of $241,947.64. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 58,233 shares in the company, valued at $6,104,565.39. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Esquire Financial Trading Down 0.7%

Esquire Financial stock traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $105.45. The stock had a trading volume of 86,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 86,599. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $107.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.40. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.14 and a 12 month high of $134.82. The company has a market capitalization of $911.10 million, a P/E ratio of 17.93 and a beta of 0.47.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $39.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.93 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esquire Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ESQ. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 800,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,703,000 after acquiring an additional 23,692 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 450,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,990,000 after purchasing an additional 11,699 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 0.5% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 368,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,563,000 after purchasing an additional 1,878 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 265,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,105,000 after purchasing an additional 27,528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 6.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 238,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,292,000 after purchasing an additional 13,832 shares during the last quarter. 54.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on ESQ shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Esquire Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. 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 report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Esquire Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Esquire Financial from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $120.33.

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.