Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Sees Large Volume Increase - Should You Buy?

Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 50,111 shares changed hands during 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 Analyst Weigh In

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

Esquire Financial Trading Up 0.5%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $90.69 and a 200-day moving average of $83.45. The company has a market cap of $846.51 million, a P/E ratio of 18.91 and a beta of 0.52.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.71 million. Equities analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Esquire Financial news, EVP Ari P. Kornhaber sold 20,000 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 104,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,738,820.44. The trade was a 16.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kevin C. Waterhouse sold 3,000 shares of Esquire Financial 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 86,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,263,058.13. The trade was a 3.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 18.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esquire Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd now owns 3,008 shares of the company's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 11,608 shares of the company's stock worth $875,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 15.1% in the 1st quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 3,295 shares of the company's stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.