Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 238,800 shares, an increase of 9.7% from the September 15th total of 217,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 30,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.7 days. Currently, 3.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ESQ traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $67.55. 11,453 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 34,281. The company has a market cap of $560.19 million, a P/E ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.29. Esquire Financial has a twelve month low of $43.24 and a twelve month high of $67.70.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.04. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 31.36% and a return on equity of 19.92%. The business had revenue of $33.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.99 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Esquire Financial will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. Esquire Financial’s payout ratio is presently 12.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Esquire Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esquire Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the first quarter worth $42,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $59,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $91,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $151,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $401,000. 54.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Esquire Financial

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Esquire Bank, National Association that provides commercial banking products and services to legal industry and small businesses, and commercial and retail customers in the United States. The company offers checking, savings, money market, and time deposits, as well as certificates of deposit.