Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Posts Earnings Results, Meets Expectations

Key Points

• Esquire Financial reported earnings of $1.38 per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' expectations, although it fell short on revenue with $24.94 million compared to estimates of $28.26 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.175 per share, which will be paid on September 2nd, representing an annualized rate of $0.70 and a yield of 0.71%.
• Esquire Financial's stock performance showed a decrease, trading down to $98.65 after reporting earnings, with analysts setting a target price of $110.00 for the shares.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of ($24.94) million during 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%.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ESQ traded down $6.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $98.65. 169,451 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 162,919. The firm has a market capitalization of $834.58 million, a PE ratio of 18.20 and a beta of 0.52. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $94.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.38. Esquire Financial has a 12 month low of $54.49 and a 12 month high of $106.11.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th 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 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Esquire Financial's payout ratio is 12.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on ESQ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $110.00 target price (up from $102.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Esquire Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday.

Insider Transactions at Esquire Financial

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esquire Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,178 shares of the company's stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Esquire Financial by 69.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,367 shares of the company's stock worth $932,000 after acquiring an additional 5,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Esquire Financial by 215.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 81,087 shares of the company's stock worth $6,113,000 after acquiring an additional 55,367 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.66% of the company's stock.

About Esquire Financial

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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