Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Sees Strong Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $85.00 to $91.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. 170,318 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 107% from the previous session's volume of 82,245 shares.The stock last traded at $85.08 and had previously closed at $84.26.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Raymond James lowered shares of Esquire Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and set a $85.00 target price (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Monday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph Melohn sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.15, for a total value of $237,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,683 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $291,509.45. This trade represents a 44.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Selig Zises sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.77, for a total transaction of $614,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,805,878.77. This represents a 11.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esquire Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ESQ. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Esquire Financial by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 798 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Esquire Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Esquire Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the company's stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $151,000. Institutional investors own 54.66% of the company's stock.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

The business's 50 day moving average price is $80.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.75. The company has a market capitalization of $741.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27 and a beta of 0.73.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.01). Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 19.93% and a net margin of 31.58%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.175 per share. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is a positive change from Esquire Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Esquire Financial's payout ratio is currently 11.63%.

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.