Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Releases Earnings Results, Meets Estimates

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58, FiscalAI reports. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 30.90%.The company had revenue of $40.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.76 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Esquire Financial’s conference call:

• Reported GAAP net income of $12.2M ($1.40/sh) and adjusted net income of $13.8M ($1.58/sh), up ~21% YoY, with industry-leading adjusted ROA of 2.37% and ROE of 18.95%.
• Net interest margin remained resilient at 604 bps despite lower short-term rates, though management expects modest compression toward ~590 bps if rates remain unchanged.
• Litigation loan portfolio grew to $1.22B at ~9% yield with a strong pipeline and multi-year CAGR in the 30%+ range, fueling overall loan growth.
• Pending Signature Bancorporation merger is advancing (regulatory filings and Form S-4 filed) and management describes the deal as transformational to expand presence in key markets like New York and Chicago.
• Asset quality is generally strong (allowance 1.3%, NPLs $736k), but the bank foreclosed on a $7.8M multifamily loan and recognized a $3.2M net charge-off this quarter.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ESQ traded up $2.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $111.95. 67,296 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 96,442. The firm has a market capitalization of $966.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04 and a beta of 0.45. Esquire Financial has a 52 week low of $80.19 and a 52 week high of $134.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $107.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.17.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Richard T. Powers sold 2,308 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.83, for a total transaction of $241,947.64. Following the sale, the director directly owned 58,233 shares in the company, valued at $6,104,565.39. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Selig Zises sold 5,000 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.10, for a total value of $525,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,501 shares in the company, valued at $683,255.10. The trade was a 43.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 32,308 shares of company stock worth $3,430,948 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 18.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esquire Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESQ. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Esquire Financial by 215.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 81,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,113,000 after acquiring an additional 55,367 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Esquire Financial by 86.5% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 69,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,113,000 after acquiring an additional 32,326 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Esquire Financial by 100.9% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 28,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,877,000 after acquiring an additional 14,156 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in Esquire Financial by 99.2% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 25,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,434,000 after acquiring an additional 12,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in Esquire Financial by 467.4% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 13,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,336,000 after acquiring an additional 10,783 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESQ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial upgraded Esquire Financial from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Esquire Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Esquire Financial from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Esquire Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Esquire Financial has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $120.33.

Esquire Financial Company Profile

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc is a bank holding company whose principal subsidiary, Esquire Bank, specializes in residential mortgage lending and community banking services. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, the company operates through multiple distribution channels, including retail branches, wholesale and correspondent lending divisions. Esquire Financial focuses on tailored home financing solutions while maintaining a community-oriented approach to banking.

In its mortgage lending business, Esquire Bank originates and services a range of home loan products, including government-insured mortgages (FHA, VA and USDA) as well as conventional conforming and jumbo loans.