Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 589,000 shares, a growth of 34.0% from the January 31st total of 439,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 72,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.1 days. Approximately 8.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James cut shares of Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

Esquire Financial Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ ESQ opened at $76.78 on Tuesday. Esquire Financial has a 52-week low of $44.45 and a 52-week high of $90.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $82.55 and a 200-day moving average of $72.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $638.89 million, a PE ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 0.73.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 19.93% and a net margin of 31.58%. Equities research analysts expect that Esquire Financial will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.175 per share. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. This is a boost 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Rena Nigam bought 640 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $77.50 per share, with a total value of $49,600.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $144,692.50. The trade was a 52.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Joseph Melohn sold 3,000 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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. Insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Esquire Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESQ. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Esquire Financial by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Arcus Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $217,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $180,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $272,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $54,000. 54.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.