Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 97,538 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 55% from the previous session’s volume of 63,055 shares.The stock last traded at $85.25 and had previously closed at $84.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Esquire Financial Stock Up 1.4 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $77.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.08. The stock has a market cap of $710.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.19 and a beta of 0.73.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid 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 0.70%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Selig Zises sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were 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 directly owns 62,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,805,878.77. This trade represents a 11.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph Melohn sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 3,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $291,509.45. This trade represents a 44.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,887,000 after purchasing an additional 6,025 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Esquire Financial by 79.8% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 36,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,351,000 after purchasing an additional 16,007 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 322.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 7,869 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the third quarter valued at $252,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 144,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,413,000 after acquiring an additional 11,345 shares during 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.