Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $89.48 and last traded at $88.43, with a volume of 5531 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $86.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on ESQ. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a report on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Esquire Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Esquire Financial Stock Up 2.6 %

The business’s fifty day moving average is $78.36 and its 200-day moving average is $66.91. The company has a market cap of $741.10 million, a PE ratio of 17.92 and a beta of 0.73.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Esquire Financial’s payout ratio is 12.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Joseph Melohn sold 3,000 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.15, for a total value of $237,450.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $291,509.45. The trade was a 44.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Selig Zises sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.77, for a total transaction of $614,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 62,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,805,878.77. The trade was a 11.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esquire Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESQ. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 122,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,818,000 after buying an additional 21,833 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $926,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 202,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,655,000 after purchasing an additional 17,333 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Esquire Financial by 79.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 36,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,351,000 after buying an additional 16,007 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Esquire Financial by 161.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 23,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,532,000 after buying an additional 14,521 shares during the last quarter. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Esquire Financial Company Profile

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.