Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ Position Decreased by UBS Group AG

UBS Group AG decreased its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 33.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 21,075 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,411 shares during the period. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Esquire Financial were worth $2,151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 352.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Esquire Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $93,000. Comerica Bank boosted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 50.2% during the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 376.6% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 1,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Esquire Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $217,000. Institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Esquire Financial Trading Down 2.3%

ESQ stock opened at $110.03 on Thursday. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $87.54 and a one year high of $134.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $950.66 million, a PE ratio of 18.49 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $109.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.55.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.06. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 29.96% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The company had revenue of $40.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.76 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 13.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ESQ shares. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $125.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Esquire Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Esquire Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Selig Zises sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.10, for a total value of $525,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $683,255.10. This represents a 43.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Richard T. Powers sold 2,308 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.83, for a total transaction of $241,947.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 58,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,104,565.39. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 32,308 shares of company stock valued at $3,430,948 over the last three months. 18.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Esquire Financial 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.