Raymond James Downgrades Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) to Market Perform

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Raymond James from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

ESQ has been the topic of several other research reports. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $75.00 price objective (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Esquire Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ESQ traded down $3.85 on Friday, hitting $82.27. 89,958 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 77,711. Esquire Financial has a 52 week low of $44.45 and a 52 week high of $90.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $684.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.55 and a beta of 0.73. The company's 50-day moving average price is $79.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.73.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last posted 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 predict that Esquire Financial will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Joseph Melohn sold 3,000 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.15, for a total value of $237,450.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,683 shares of the company's stock, valued at $291,509.45. This trade represents a 44.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rena Nigam acquired 640 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $77.50 per share, with a total value of $49,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at $144,692.50. This trade represents a 52.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 18.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Esquire Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Esquire Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $926,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 202,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,655,000 after buying an additional 17,333 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 79.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 36,058 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,351,000 after buying an additional 16,007 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 161.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 23,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,532,000 after buying an additional 14,521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in Esquire Financial by 8.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 144,344 shares of the company's stock worth $9,413,000 after buying an additional 11,345 shares during the last quarter. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Esquire Financial Company Profile

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.