Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Position in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 30.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 16,645 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,427 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Esquire Financial were worth $1,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ESQ. Fifth Third Bancorp purchased a new position in shares of Esquire Financial during the first quarter worth $174,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $693,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $6,593,000. Personal CFO Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Esquire Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $229,000. Finally, Ampfield Management L.P. lifted its stake in Esquire Financial by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. Ampfield Management L.P. now owns 233,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,071,000 after acquiring an additional 43,633 shares in the last quarter. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Esquire Financial Trading Down 1.7%

Esquire Financial stock opened at $129.63 on Friday. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.57 and a twelve month high of $134.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39 and a beta of 0.39.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $42.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.59 million. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 18.59% and a net margin of 29.30%. Sell-side analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Esquire Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $120.33.

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.