Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $81.54 and last traded at $81.31, with a volume of 2828 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $79.94.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ESQ. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $661.52 million, a PE ratio of 16.00 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $75.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.57.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.07%.

Insider Activity

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Joseph Melohn sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.15, for a total transaction of $237,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,683 shares in the company, valued at $291,509.45. This represents a 44.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rena Nigam acquired 640 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $77.50 per share, for a total transaction of $49,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $144,692.50. This represents a 52.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Esquire Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Esquire Financial by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 45,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,170,000 after purchasing an additional 4,686 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 355.1% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,000 after buying an additional 3,139 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank purchased a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $91,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Esquire Financial by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 11,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $535,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Esquire Financial by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 55,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,659,000 after acquiring an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

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.