Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Sees Large Volume Increase Following Analyst Upgrade

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $85.00 to $91.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. 170,318 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 107% from the previous session’s volume of 82,245 shares.The stock last traded at $85.08 and had previously closed at $84.26.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Raymond James lowered shares of Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $85.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Monday.

Insider Transactions at Esquire Financial

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Selig Zises sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.77, for a total value of $614,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 62,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,805,878.77. This trade represents a 11.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rena Nigam acquired 640 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $77.50 per share, for a total transaction of $49,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $144,692.50. This represents a 52.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 18.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esquire Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESQ. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Esquire Financial by 322.6% during the 3rd 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. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.4% in 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. grew its stake in Esquire Financial by 79.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 36,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,351,000 after buying an additional 16,007 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $252,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 11,345 shares during the period. 54.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Esquire Financial Stock Up 1.9 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $79.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.50. The company has a market capitalization of $714.02 million, a P/E ratio of 17.27 and a beta of 0.73.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.01). Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 31.38%. Research analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.