Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 72,485 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the previous session’s volume of 96,514 shares.The stock last traded at $111.2130 and had previously closed at $112.76.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Esquire Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Esquire Financial from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Esquire Financial from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Esquire Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Esquire Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $120.33.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.99. The firm has a market cap of $954.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56 and a beta of 0.39.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.06. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 29.96%.The business had revenue of $40.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.76 million. Analysts expect that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Esquire Financial

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esquire Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.9% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 11.7% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 64.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 690 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $803,000 after buying an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

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.