Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Esquire Financial Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $78.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.35. The firm has a market cap of $740.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91 and a beta of 0.73.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. Esquire Financial’s payout ratio is presently 12.07%.

Insider Transactions at Esquire Financial

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

Institutional Trading of Esquire Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESQ. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Esquire Financial by 36.6% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 11,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Esquire Financial by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 40,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,661,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.