Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC Cuts Position in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ

Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 26.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,687 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,814 shares during the period. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.32% of Esquire Financial worth $2,826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ESQ. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Esquire Financial by 352.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial during the second quarter worth about $190,000. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial during the second quarter worth about $207,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $217,000. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Esquire Financial from $113.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Esquire Financial from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Esquire Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $118.00.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

ESQ opened at $106.89 on Thursday. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $68.90 and a one year high of $134.82. The company has a market cap of $916.05 million, a P/E ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $107.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.78.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.01). Esquire Financial had a net margin of 30.90% and a return on equity of 18.72%. The business had revenue of $39.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.93 million. As a group, analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.61%.

About Esquire Financial

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.