Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.18 (NASDAQ:ESQ)

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 24th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.175 per share on Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th.

Esquire Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 11.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Esquire Financial to earn $6.02 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.70 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 11.6%.

Esquire Financial Stock Down 1.4%

ESQ stock traded down $1.41 during trading on Monday, hitting $97.24. 78,134 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 156,789. The firm has a market capitalization of $822.65 million, a P/E ratio of 17.94 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.57. Esquire Financial has a 1 year low of $54.49 and a 1 year high of $106.11.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.38. The company had revenue of ($24.94) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.26 million. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 30.96% and a return on equity of 19.33%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Esquire Financial will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ESQ shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $110.00 target price (up from $102.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Friday.

Insider Activity at Esquire Financial

In other news, Director Kevin C. Waterhouse sold 3,000 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.87, for a total transaction of $251,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 86,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,263,058.13. The trade was a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 18.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esquire Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESQ. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Esquire Financial by 3.9% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,178 shares of the company's stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Esquire Financial by 69.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $932,000 after purchasing an additional 5,071 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Esquire Financial by 215.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 81,087 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,113,000 after purchasing an additional 55,367 shares during the period. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.