Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 698,600 shares, an increase of 26.3% from the April 30th total of 553,000 shares. Currently, 9.9% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 62,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 11.1 days.

Insider Activity at Esquire Financial

In related news, Director Kevin C. Waterhouse sold 3,000 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.87, for a total value of $251,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ari P. Kornhaber sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.51, for a total value of $1,670,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,644 shares in the company, valued at $8,738,820.44. This represents a 16.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ESQ. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $33,407,000. Royce & Associates LP acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the first quarter worth about $4,640,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 215.3% in the 1st 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 last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 209,991 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,829,000 after purchasing an additional 43,076 shares during the period. Finally, Ampfield Management L.P. grew its stake in Esquire Financial by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Ampfield Management L.P. now owns 281,502 shares of the company's stock worth $21,220,000 after buying an additional 29,869 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th.

Esquire Financial Stock Down 1.5%

Esquire Financial stock traded down $1.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $89.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 74,132 shares, compared to its average volume of 52,048. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.82. The company has a market cap of $753.12 million, a P/E ratio of 17.25 and a beta of 0.51. Esquire Financial has a fifty-two week low of $44.55 and a fifty-two week high of $92.50.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $33.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.71 million. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 19.93% and a net margin of 31.58%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Esquire Financial will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Esquire Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.23%.

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.