Maltese Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ

Maltese Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,000 shares during the quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Esquire Financial were worth $2,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ESQ. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,264,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 6.2% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 238,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,292,000 after purchasing an additional 13,832 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Esquire Financial by 4.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 199,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,927,000 after purchasing an additional 7,673 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Esquire Financial by 45.1% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 37,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,816,000 after purchasing an additional 11,628 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Esquire Financial by 70.5% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 16,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 6,629 shares in the last quarter. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Esquire Financial stock opened at $110.38 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $945.96 million, a PE ratio of 18.77 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $107.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.30. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $69.14 and a one year high of $134.82.

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

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were 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 was Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Esquire Financial’s payout ratio is 13.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ESQ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Esquire Financial from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Esquire Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of Esquire Financial from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Esquire Financial has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $120.33.

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.