Insider Selling: Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Director Sells $241,947.64 in Stock

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Director Richard Powers sold 2,308 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,104,565.39. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ESQ opened at $105.45 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $911.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93 and a beta of 0.47. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $69.14 and a one year high of $134.82. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $107.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.56.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.01). Esquire Financial had a net margin of 30.90% and a return on equity of 18.28%. The business had revenue of $39.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.93 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This is an increase from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 13.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on ESQ shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. 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 report on Friday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Esquire Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esquire Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew 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 valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 10,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $972,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 64.3% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 690 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $803,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

About Esquire Financial

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.