Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Here's What Happened

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 76,979 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 55% from the previous session's volume of 49,698 shares.The stock last traded at $89.34 and had previously closed at $89.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Esquire Financial Trading Down 3.0%

The firm has a market cap of $744.49 million, a P/E ratio of 17.05 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $83.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.64.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $33.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.71 million. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 31.58% and a return on equity of 19.93%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Esquire Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.23%.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $83.87, for a total value of $251,610.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 86,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,263,058.13. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ari P. Kornhaber sold 20,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,738,820.44. The trade was 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Esquire Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Esquire Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial during the first quarter worth $51,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 151.0% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 788 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial in the 1st quarter worth $106,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Esquire Financial during the 4th quarter worth $207,000. 54.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.