Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $77.75, but opened at $80.61. Esquire Financial shares last traded at $79.27, with a volume of 17,106 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Esquire Financial Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $71.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $661.10 million, a P/E ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 0.74.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Esquire Financial’s payout ratio is 12.07%.

Insider Activity at Esquire Financial

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Selig Zises sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,601 shares in the company, valued at $4,805,878.77. This represents a 11.33 % 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 bought 640 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $77.50 per share, for a total transaction of $49,600.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $144,692.50. The trade was a 52.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 18.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Esquire Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESQ. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Esquire Financial by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 122,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,818,000 after purchasing an additional 21,833 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $954,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Esquire Financial in the second quarter valued at $926,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Esquire Financial by 9.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 202,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,655,000 after acquiring an additional 17,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $570,000. 54.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.