Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Director Richard T. Powers Sells 1,427 Shares

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Director Richard T. Powers sold 1,427 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.99, for a total transaction of $124,134.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 58,997 shares in the company, valued at $5,132,149.03. This trade represents a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ESQ opened at $85.32 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $81.55 and its 200-day moving average is $70.05. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.45 and a 52-week high of $90.18. The company has a market cap of $709.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.53 and a beta of 0.73.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 31.58% and a return on equity of 19.93%. Equities analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. This is an increase from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Esquire Financial’s payout ratio is currently 13.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esquire Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $545,000. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,626,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $238,000. Finally, Ampfield Management L.P. raised its stake in Esquire Financial by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Ampfield Management L.P. now owns 251,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,005,000 after acquiring an additional 24,773 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on ESQ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James downgraded Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

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.