Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $89.48 and last traded at $88.43, with a volume of 5531 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESQ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Esquire Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average is $78.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.35. The firm has a market cap of $740.48 million, a P/E ratio of 17.91 and a beta of 0.73.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Esquire Financial’s payout ratio is 12.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph Melohn sold 3,000 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.15, for a total value of $237,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 62,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,805,878.77. The trade was a 11.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Esquire Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESQ. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 322.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 7,869 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,887,000 after acquiring an additional 6,025 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 79.8% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 36,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,351,000 after purchasing an additional 16,007 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 11,345 shares during the period. 54.66% of the stock is 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.