Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Sets New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $93.09 and last traded at $92.90, with a volume of 30934 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $92.24.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Esquire Financial Trading Down 0.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $771.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68 and a beta of 0.53. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $86.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.69.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.03. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 31.58% and a return on equity of 19.93%. The business had revenue of $33.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.71 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Esquire Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.23%.

Insider Transactions at Esquire Financial

In related news, EVP Ari P. Kornhaber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,738,820.44. This represents a 16.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kevin C. Waterhouse sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.87, for a total transaction of $251,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 86,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,263,058.13. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 18.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd lifted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd now owns 3,008 shares of the company's stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Esquire Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 3,295 shares of the company's stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the period. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.