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

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 60,842 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 31% from the previous session's volume of 46,315 shares.The stock last traded at $78.94 and had previously closed at $77.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James cut Esquire Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $85.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

Esquire Financial Stock Down 1.7 %

The company's 50-day simple moving average is $76.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.29. The company has a market capitalization of $667.56 million, a P/E ratio of 15.34 and a beta of 0.52.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.01). Esquire Financial had a net margin of 31.58% and a return on equity of 19.93%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. This is a boost from Esquire Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Esquire Financial's payout ratio is presently 13.57%.

Insider Activity at Esquire Financial

In other news, Director Selig Zises sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.59, for a total transaction of $1,551,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,754,522.59. This represents a 36.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard T. Powers sold 1,427 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.99, for a total transaction of $124,134.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,132,149.03. This represents a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial in the first quarter worth about $51,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Esquire Financial by 53.9% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,931 shares of the company's stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,728 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Esquire Financial by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 11,608 shares of the company's stock worth $875,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 11,851.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 4,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.