Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Esquire Financial from $94.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th.

Esquire Financial Trading Up 0.0%

NASDAQ:ESQ traded up $0.04 on Friday, hitting $100.07. 154,497 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 66,142. The stock has a market cap of $846.59 million, a PE ratio of 18.92 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $92.87 and a 200-day moving average of $84.59. Esquire Financial has a fifty-two week low of $54.49 and a fifty-two week high of $101.41.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.03. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 19.20% and a net margin of 31.37%. The business had revenue of $33.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.71 million. As a group, analysts predict that Esquire Financial will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Esquire Financial

In related news, Director Kevin C. Waterhouse sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.87, for a total value of $251,610.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 86,599 shares in the company, valued at $7,263,058.13. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ari P. Kornhaber sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.51, for a total value of $1,670,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 104,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,738,820.44. This represents a 16.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esquire Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESQ. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the 1st quarter worth $51,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 151.0% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 788 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the 1st quarter worth $106,000. Finally, Longboard Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $233,000. 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.

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