Bank of America Corp DE Purchases 70,646 Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its Esquire Financial stake by 418.4%, purchasing 70,646 additional shares to hold 87,530 shares valued at approximately $9.4 million. Other institutions, including Royal Bank of Canada and AQR Capital Management, also raised their positions; institutional investors own 54.66% of the company.
• Esquire Financial reported quarterly EPS of $1.60, exceeding the $1.56 consensus estimate, while revenue of $42.13 million also topped expectations. The company announced a $0.20 quarterly dividend, equating to an annualized $0.80 payout and a 0.7% yield.
• ESQ shares opened at $114.81, below the consensus analyst price target of $120.33, with analysts maintaining an overall “Buy” rating. Director Robert Mitzman sold 3,000 shares at an average price of $129.60, reducing his ownership by 2.1%.

Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) by 418.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,530 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 70,646 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 1.01% of Esquire Financial worth $9,409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 215.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 81,087 shares of the company's stock worth $6,113,000 after acquiring an additional 55,367 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 69.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $932,000 after purchasing an additional 5,071 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position 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 worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its position in Esquire Financial by 54.2% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,676 shares of the company's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Esquire Financial by 9.6% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,684 shares of the company's stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Mitzman sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.60, for a total transaction of $388,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 139,679 shares in the company, valued at $18,102,398.40. This represents a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 13.90% of the company's stock.

Esquire Financial Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:ESQ opened at $114.81 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $121.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.23. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.10 and a 12 month high of $134.82.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $42.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.59 million. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 18.22% and a net margin of 29.30%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Esquire Financial's payout ratio is 13.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESQ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Esquire Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $120.33.

About Esquire Financial

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc is a bank holding company whose principal subsidiary, Esquire Bank, specializes in residential mortgage lending and community banking services. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, the company operates through multiple distribution channels, including retail branches, wholesale and correspondent lending divisions. Esquire Financial focuses on tailored home financing solutions while maintaining a community-oriented approach to banking.

In its mortgage lending business, Esquire Bank originates and services a range of home loan products, including government-insured mortgages (FHA, VA and USDA) as well as conventional conforming and jumbo loans.

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