Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 30,165 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 10% from the previous session’s volume of 33,481 shares.The stock last traded at $77.11 and had previously closed at $77.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Esquire Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $72.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Esquire Financial Stock Up 1.2 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.53. The stock has a market cap of $653.95 million, a PE ratio of 15.88 and a beta of 0.70.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 12.07%.

Insider Transactions at Esquire Financial

In other news, Director Selig Zises sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.77, for a total value of $614,160.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 62,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,805,878.77. This represents a 11.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Esquire Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESQ. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Esquire Financial by 79.8% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 36,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,351,000 after acquiring an additional 16,007 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 36.6% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $401,000. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in Esquire Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $570,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Esquire Financial by 9.3% during the second 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. 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.