Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Raymond James Financial

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) was upgraded by investment analysts at Raymond James Financial from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a $125.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 11.45% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Esquire Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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, Weiss Ratings raised Esquire Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $120.33.

Esquire Financial Stock Up 5.8%

NASDAQ ESQ traded up $6.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $112.16. The company had a trading volume of 25,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 81,257. The stock has a market cap of $961.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $107.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.11. Esquire Financial has a fifty-two week low of $69.14 and a fifty-two week high of $134.82.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Langdon Equity Partners bought a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $14,609,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 215.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 81,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,113,000 after buying an additional 55,367 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 86.5% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 69,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,113,000 after buying an additional 32,326 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Esquire Financial by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 265,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,105,000 after buying an additional 27,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Esquire Financial in the second quarter valued at $2,438,000. Institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

About Esquire Financial

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.