Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 40,183 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 13% from the previous session’s volume of 35,607 shares.The stock last traded at $78.73 and had previously closed at $78.10.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Esquire Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Esquire Financial Stock Up 0.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $656.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $75.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.67.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.07%.

Insider Activity at Esquire Financial

In related news, Director Rena Nigam acquired 640 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $77.50 per share, with a total value of $49,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $144,692.50. This trade represents a 52.16 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Selig Zises sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.77, for a total transaction of $614,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,805,878.77. The trade was a 11.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esquire Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 161.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 23,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,532,000 after buying an additional 14,521 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Esquire Financial during the third quarter worth about $252,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Esquire Financial by 322.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 7,869 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Esquire Financial by 3.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,887,000 after purchasing an additional 6,025 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in Esquire Financial by 8.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 144,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,413,000 after purchasing an additional 11,345 shares during the period. 54.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Esquire Financial

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Esquire Bank, National Association that provides commercial banking products and services to legal industry and small businesses, and commercial and retail customers in the United States. The company offers checking, savings, money market, and time deposits, as well as certificates of deposit.