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

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 77,457 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 40% from the previous session's volume of 55,253 shares.The stock last traded at $91.66 and had previously closed at $89.30.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $778.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.39 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $88.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.46.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $33.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.71 million. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 19.20% and a net margin of 31.37%. On average, analysts expect that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. Esquire Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.23%.

Insider Transactions at Esquire Financial

In related news, EVP Ari P. Kornhaber sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.51, for a total transaction of $1,670,200.00. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kevin C. Waterhouse sold 3,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the director now owns 86,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,263,058.13. This represents a 3.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 18.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esquire Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 11,608 shares of the company's stock valued at $875,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,178 shares of the company's stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Esquire Financial by 52.7% during the 1st quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 9,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $706,000 after acquiring an additional 3,232 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 69.5% during the first 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, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $263,000. 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.