Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Esquire Financial from “hold” to “strong buy,” bringing the analyst consensus to “Strong Buy” with an average price target of $122.50.
• Esquire Financial reported quarterly earnings of $2.12 per share, surpassing estimates of $1.89, while revenue of $61.39 million also exceeded expectations.
• The stock opened at $127.70, with a $1.55 billion market capitalization; institutional investors own 54.66% of shares, while CEO Andrew Sagliocca recently sold 10,000 shares.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on ESQ. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Esquire Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Esquire Financial in a report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Esquire Financial from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (a)" rating in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and an average price target of $122.50.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

Esquire Financial stock opened at $127.70 on Wednesday. Esquire Financial has a 52 week low of $92.10 and a 52 week high of $134.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $119.11 and a 200-day moving average of $114.29.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.23. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 21.49% and a net margin of 26.92%. The business had revenue of $61.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.93 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Esquire Financial will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Andrew Sagliocca sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.73, for a total transaction of $1,227,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 288,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,444,178.54. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 13.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esquire Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESQ. Landaas & Co. WI ADV bought a new position in Esquire Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $435,000. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its position in Esquire Financial by 6.9% during the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 6,120 shares of the company's stock valued at $712,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $223,000. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $310,000. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $293,000. Institutional investors own 54.66% of the company's stock.

Esquire Financial Company Profile

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc is the bank holding company for Esquire Bank, a federally chartered community bank headquartered in Jericho, New York. Esquire Bank primarily serves law firms, attorneys, and other professional-service businesses, as well as small and middle-market companies, entrepreneurs, and individuals.

The bank provides commercial banking products and services that include business checking and savings accounts, commercial loans, lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, construction lending, and small business lending.

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