Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $83.24 and last traded at $83.22, with a volume of 8640 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.24.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESQ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price target (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a report on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Esquire Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $685.57 million, a P/E ratio of 16.58 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $77.41 and its 200 day moving average is $65.84.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Rena Nigam acquired 640 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $77.50 per share, with a total value of $49,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,867 shares in the company, valued at $144,692.50. The trade was a 52.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Melohn sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.15, for a total transaction of $237,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $291,509.45. The trade was a 44.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esquire Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Esquire Financial by 36.6% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $54,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $64,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Esquire Financial during the third quarter valued at about $151,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Esquire Financial Company Profile

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.