Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Director Sells $388,800.00 in Stock

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Director Robert Mitzman sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.60, for a total value of $388,800.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 139,679 shares in the company, valued at $18,102,398.40. This trade represents a 2.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Esquire Financial Stock Up 1.5%

ESQ opened at $132.20 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 21.82 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50 day moving average of $118.07 and a 200-day moving average of $111.75. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.64 and a 52 week high of $134.82.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $42.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.59 million. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 18.59% and a net margin of 29.30%. Equities analysts anticipate that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.9 EPS for the current year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.20%.

Institutional Trading of Esquire Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESQ. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 418.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 87,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,409,000 after purchasing an additional 70,646 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Esquire Financial by 26.6% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 4,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $531,000 after buying an additional 1,039 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 471.4% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 56,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,020,000 after acquiring an additional 46,200 shares during the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $212,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 38.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 26,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,830,000 after acquiring an additional 7,302 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Esquire Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Esquire Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Esquire Financial presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $120.33.

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.