Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Short Interest Update

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

Esquire Financial Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Esquire Financial stock traded up $0.70 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $72.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 68,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 43,377. The firm has a market cap of $599.11 million, a PE ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $81.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.84. Esquire Financial has a fifty-two week low of $44.45 and a fifty-two week 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%. On average, analysts predict that Esquire Financial will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $237,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $291,509.45. The trade was a 44.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.99, for a total transaction of $124,134.73. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 24,427 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,385. 18.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esquire Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ESQ. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Esquire Financial by 322.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,000 after buying an additional 7,869 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Esquire Financial by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,887,000 after purchasing an additional 6,025 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Esquire Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $534,000. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $252,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 8.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 144,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,413,000 after buying an additional 11,345 shares in the last quarter. 54.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James downgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $85.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

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.