Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Issues Earnings Results

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.04, FiscalAI reports. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 29.96%.The business had revenue of $42.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.59 million.

Esquire Financial Trading Down 5.7%

ESQ stock traded down $6.86 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $114.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 101,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 106,845. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $114.65 and its 200-day moving average is $110.31. Esquire Financial has a 12 month low of $90.57 and a 12 month high of $134.82. The company has a market cap of $986.29 million, a PE ratio of 19.14 and a beta of 0.39.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 13.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on ESQ. Wall Street Zen cut Esquire Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Weiss Ratings raised Esquire Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $120.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 2.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 438,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,790,000 after buying an additional 8,437 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in Esquire Financial by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 368,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,563,000 after buying an additional 1,878 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Esquire Financial by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 224,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,887,000 after buying an additional 8,658 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Esquire Financial by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 195,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,004,000 after acquiring an additional 2,023 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Esquire Financial by 215.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 81,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,113,000 after acquiring an additional 55,367 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

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.