Renaissance Technologies LLC Acquires 46,200 Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ

Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 471.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,200 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Esquire Financial were worth $6,020,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 450,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,990,000 after acquiring an additional 11,699 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 265,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,105,000 after purchasing an additional 27,528 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Esquire Financial by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 800,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,703,000 after buying an additional 23,692 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Esquire Financial by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 199,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,405,000 after buying an additional 12,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Langdon Equity Partners acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,609,000. Institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Mitzman sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.60, for a total value of $388,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 139,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,102,398.40. The trade was a 2.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 13.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Esquire Financial Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of ESQ stock opened at $130.31 on Wednesday. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.64 and a 52 week high of $134.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $117.63 and a 200-day moving average of $111.58. The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.50 and a beta of 0.38.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.04. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 29.30% and a return on equity of 18.59%. The business had revenue of $42.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.59 million. Analysts anticipate that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Esquire Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Weiss Ratings lowered Esquire Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.