Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Reaches New 1-Year High After Dividend Announcement

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $104.50 and last traded at $103.77, with a volume of 102006 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $103.04.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Esquire Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ESQ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $110.00 target price (up from $102.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Esquire Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $822.65 million, a P/E ratio of 17.94 and a beta of 0.52. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $94.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.44.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.38. The firm had revenue of ($24.94) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.26 million. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 30.96% and a return on equity of 19.33%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Esquire Financial

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Kevin C. Waterhouse sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.87, for a total transaction of $251,610.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 86,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,263,058.13. This represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 18.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esquire Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $51,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Esquire Financial by 151.0% during 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 acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $106,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $207,000. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.