Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC Trims Stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ

Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC cut its position in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 26.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,687 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,814 shares during the quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Esquire Financial were worth $2,826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESQ. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Esquire Financial by 215.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 81,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,113,000 after buying an additional 55,367 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,438,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Esquire Financial by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 224,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,223,000 after purchasing an additional 14,207 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Esquire Financial by 99.2% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 25,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,434,000 after purchasing an additional 12,802 shares during the period. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Esquire Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $1,264,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESQ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Esquire Financial in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Esquire Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Esquire Financial from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Esquire Financial from $113.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $118.00.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ESQ opened at $106.89 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $916.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $107.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.78. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.90 and a 12 month high of $134.82.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $39.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.93 million. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 30.90%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.61%.

Esquire Financial Company Profile

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc is a bank holding company whose principal subsidiary, Esquire Bank, specializes in residential mortgage lending and community banking services. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, the company operates through multiple distribution channels, including retail branches, wholesale and correspondent lending divisions. Esquire Financial focuses on tailored home financing solutions while maintaining a community-oriented approach to banking.

In its mortgage lending business, Esquire Bank originates and services a range of home loan products, including government-insured mortgages (FHA, VA and USDA) as well as conventional conforming and jumbo loans.