Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Time to Buy?

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 40,183 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 13% from the previous session's volume of 35,607 shares.The stock last traded at $78.73 and had previously closed at $78.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ESQ shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $75.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a report on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Esquire Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Esquire Financial Stock Up 1.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $661.77 million, a P/E ratio of 16.00 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.91.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Esquire Financial's payout ratio is presently 12.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted 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 worth $2,351,000 after buying an additional 16,007 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,887,000 after acquiring an additional 6,025 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Esquire Financial by 8.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 144,344 shares of the company's stock worth $9,413,000 after acquiring an additional 11,345 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Esquire Financial by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 798 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in Esquire Financial by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the company's stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.66% of the company's stock.

About Esquire Financial

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.