Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Hits Estimates

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) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of ($24.94) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.26 million. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 19.33% and a net margin of 30.96%.

Esquire Financial Trading Down 0.6%

ESQ stock traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $96.14. The stock had a trading volume of 64,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 148,442. The company has a fifty day moving average of $94.43 and a 200 day moving average of $85.72. Esquire Financial has a 1-year low of $54.49 and a 1-year high of $106.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $813.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74 and a beta of 0.52.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.175 per share. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Esquire Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esquire Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,178 shares of the company's stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 5,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Esquire Financial by 215.3% during 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 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, July 25th.

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.