Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Hits New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) reached a new 52-week high on Friday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $90.18 and last traded at $89.51, with a volume of 31648 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $87.42.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.175 per share. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is a boost from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 11.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on 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. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $85.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

Esquire Financial Trading Up 2.2 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $80.67 and a 200 day moving average of $68.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $743.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32 and a beta of 0.73.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Esquire Financial

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Joseph Melohn sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.15, for a total value of $237,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $291,509.45. This represents a 44.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Selig Zises sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.77, for a total value of $614,160.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 62,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,805,878.77. This represents a 11.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 36.6% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $54,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $64,000. FMR LLC grew its position in Esquire Financial by 14.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $151,000. 54.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Esquire Financial Company Profile

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.