Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.23 EPS

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.23, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $61.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.93 million. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 29.30% and a return on equity of 18.22%.

Esquire Financial Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:ESQ opened at $123.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.44 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $118.63 and its 200-day moving average is $113.99. Esquire Financial has a 1-year low of $92.10 and a 1-year high of $134.82.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. Esquire Financial’s payout ratio is 13.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Andrew Sagliocca sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.73, for a total value of $1,227,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 288,798 shares in the company, valued at $35,444,178.54. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Mitzman sold 3,000 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.60, for a total transaction of $388,800.00. Following the sale, the director owned 139,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,102,398.40. This represents a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 13.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Esquire Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $120.33.

About Esquire Financial

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.