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

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)’s share price dropped 3.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $73.00 and last traded at $73.00. Approximately 58,138 shares traded 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 Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $85.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James downgraded shares of 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 target on Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

Esquire Financial Stock Down 3.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $615.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.15 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $79.36 and a 200 day moving average of $74.94.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.175 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Selig Zises sold 20,000 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 35,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,754,522.59. This trade represents a 36.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard T. Powers sold 1,427 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $5,132,149.03. This represents a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esquire Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Esquire Financial by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 29,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,274 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $487,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,182 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 22,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,816,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.