Sei Investments Co. Raises Stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ

Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 38.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,309 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,302 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.30% of Esquire Financial worth $2,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Comerica Bank raised its position in Esquire Financial by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 64.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $803,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Esquire Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.33.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

Shares of ESQ stock opened at $131.38 on Friday. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.64 and a 1-year high of $134.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $118.94 and its 200 day moving average is $112.06. The company has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.68 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Esquire Financial’s payout ratio is presently 13.20%.

Insider Activity at Esquire Financial

In related news, Director Robert Mitzman sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.60, for a total transaction of $388,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 139,679 shares in the company, valued at $18,102,398.40. The trade was a 2.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 13.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.