Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Stock Price Down 3.4% – What’s Next?

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) shares dropped 3.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $73.00 and last traded at $73.00. Approximately 58,138 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 28% from the average daily volume of 45,566 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ESQ shares. Raymond James cut shares of Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $85.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a report on Monday, January 27th.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $606.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.98.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.01). Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 19.93% and a net margin of 31.58%. On average, analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. This is an increase from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Esquire Financial’s payout ratio is currently 13.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard T. Powers sold 1,427 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.99, for a total value of $124,134.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,132,149.03. This trade represents a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Selig Zises sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.59, for a total transaction of $1,551,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,754,522.59. The trade was a 36.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Esquire Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in Esquire Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Esquire Financial by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,626,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 151.0% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

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.