Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Esquire Financial has been upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "sell" to a "hold" rating, indicating a more favorable outlook for the stock.
• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods has increased its price target for Esquire Financial from $102.00 to $110.00, reflecting more positive sentiment among analysts.
• Insider trading activities have seen executives sell shares recently, with one EVP selling 20,000 shares valued at approximately $1.67 million, representing a 16.05% reduction in their ownership.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated 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.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

ESQ stock opened at $98.65 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.38. Esquire Financial has a fifty-two week low of $54.49 and a fifty-two week high of $106.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $834.58 million, a PE ratio of 18.20 and a beta of 0.52.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.38. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 30.96% and a return on equity of 19.33%. The business had revenue of ($24.94) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.26 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Esquire Financial will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Esquire Financial

In other Esquire Financial news, EVP Ari P. Kornhaber sold 20,000 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 104,644 shares in the company, valued at $8,738,820.44. This represents a 16.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kevin C. Waterhouse sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.87, for a total transaction of $251,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 86,599 shares in the company, valued at $7,263,058.13. This represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esquire Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESQ. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in Esquire Financial in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in Esquire Financial in the 1st quarter worth $51,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Esquire Financial in the 1st quarter worth $106,000. Finally, Longboard Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Esquire Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $233,000. Institutional investors 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.

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