Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ Shares Newly Acquired by Compass Financial Management LLC

Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 4,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $544,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 2,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Esquire Financial by 1.7% in the second quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 13,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,574,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Esquire Financial by 861.5% in the third quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial during the third quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial during the second quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Esquire Financial Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of ESQ opened at $126.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12 and a beta of 0.36. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.96 and a 12 month high of $134.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $120.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.78.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.23. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 21.49% and a net margin of 26.92%. The firm had revenue of $61.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.93 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 7.49 EPS for the current year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ari Kornhaber sold 20,000 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.15, for a total value of $2,563,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 99,792 shares in the company, valued at $12,788,344.80. This trade represents a 16.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Andrew Sagliocca sold 10,000 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.73, for a total transaction of $1,227,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 288,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,444,178.54. The trade was a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,263,500. 13.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESQ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research raised Esquire Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Esquire Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Esquire Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Esquire Financial in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.50.

Esquire Financial Company Profile

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc is the bank holding company for Esquire Bank, a federally chartered community bank headquartered in Jericho, New York. Esquire Bank primarily serves law firms, attorneys, and other professional-service businesses, as well as small and middle-market companies, entrepreneurs, and individuals.

The bank provides commercial banking products and services that include business checking and savings accounts, commercial loans, lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, construction lending, and small business lending.