Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Downgraded by Raymond James to “Market Perform”

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) was downgraded by analysts at Raymond James from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Esquire Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a report on Friday, October 25th.

Esquire Financial Trading Down 3.2 %

NASDAQ ESQ opened at $86.12 on Friday. Esquire Financial has a 52 week low of $44.45 and a 52 week high of $90.00. The stock has a market cap of $716.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $79.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.48.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.01). Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 31.38%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Esquire Financial will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Selig Zises sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.77, for a total transaction of $614,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,601 shares in the company, valued at $4,805,878.77. The trade was a 11.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a 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 on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.15, for a total transaction of $237,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $291,509.45. This trade represents a 44.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Esquire Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESQ. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Esquire Financial in the third quarter valued at about $54,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $64,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Esquire Financial by 14.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $151,000. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.