Short Interest in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Decreases By 26.3%

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 434,300 shares, a decline of 26.3% from the February 13th total of 589,000 shares. Approximately 6.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 76,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.7 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Selig Zises sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.59, for a total value of $1,551,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,754,522.59. This trade represents a 36.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard T. Powers sold 1,427 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.99, for a total value of $124,134.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 58,997 shares in the company, valued at $5,132,149.03. The trade was a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,427 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,385 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esquire Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Esquire Financial by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 29,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,345,000 after buying an additional 1,274 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Esquire Financial during the fourth quarter worth $487,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,182 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Esquire Financial by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 22,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,816,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on ESQ shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James lowered shares of Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $85.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

Esquire Financial Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ ESQ traded down $1.60 during trading on Monday, reaching $71.51. 22,444 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 43,179. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $81.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.77. The company has a market capitalization of $594.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 0.78. Esquire Financial has a twelve month low of $44.45 and a twelve month high of $90.18.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.01). Esquire Financial had a net margin of 31.58% and a return on equity of 19.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Esquire Financial will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.175 per share. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. This is an increase from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 13.57%.

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.