Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Time to Buy?

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 77,457 shares were traded during mid-day 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 price objective 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 Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $792.96 million, a PE ratio of 17.72 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.22.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $33.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.71 million. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 19.20% and a net margin of 31.37%. Research analysts expect that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.175 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Esquire Financial's payout ratio is 13.23%.

Insider Activity at Esquire Financial

In related news, EVP Ari P. Kornhaber sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 now owns 104,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,738,820.44. This trade represents a 16.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kevin C. Waterhouse sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.87, for a total transaction of $251,610.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 86,599 shares in the company, valued at $7,263,058.13. The trade was a 3.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Esquire Financial

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