Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Sees Large Volume Increase - Here's What Happened

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 50,111 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the previous session's volume of 59,605 shares.The stock last traded at $101.13 and had previously closed at $99.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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 report on Tuesday, April 29th.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.31. The company has a market capitalization of $841.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76 and a beta of 0.52.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.03. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 31.37% and a return on equity of 19.20%. The firm had revenue of $33.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.71 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ari P. Kornhaber sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 104,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,738,820.44. This trade represents a 16.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kevin C. Waterhouse sold 3,000 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.87, for a total value of $251,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esquire Financial

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

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.