Copeland Capital Management LLC Grows Position in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ

Key Points

• Copeland Capital Management increased its stake in Esquire Financial Holdings by 14.7% in the first quarter, buying 39,097 additional shares and bringing its total to 304,647 shares worth about $32.75 million.
• Other institutional investors also added to positions, and 54.66% of Esquire Financial stock is now held by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Esquire Financial reported Q1 earnings of $1.58 per share, beating analyst estimates, while the stock opened at $123.26 and the company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share.

Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) by 14.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 304,647 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 39,097 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC owned about 3.53% of Esquire Financial worth $32,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 800,465 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,703,000 after purchasing an additional 23,692 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 450,577 shares of the company's stock worth $45,990,000 after purchasing an additional 11,699 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 0.5% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 368,064 shares of the company's stock worth $37,563,000 after purchasing an additional 1,878 shares during the last quarter. Ampfield Management L.P. grew its position in Esquire Financial by 23.0% in the 1st quarter. Ampfield Management L.P. now owns 233,216 shares of the company's stock worth $25,071,000 after purchasing an additional 43,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Esquire Financial by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 224,204 shares of the company's stock worth $22,887,000 after purchasing an additional 8,658 shares in the last quarter. 54.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ESQ shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Esquire Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Weiss Ratings raised Esquire Financial from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Esquire Financial presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $120.33.

Esquire Financial Trading Down 1.9%

NASDAQ:ESQ opened at $123.26 on Friday. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.57 and a 12 month high of $134.82. The firm's 50 day moving average is $113.61 and its 200 day moving average is $109.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.72 and a beta of 0.39.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $40.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.76 million. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 29.96%. Research analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Esquire Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.45%.

Esquire Financial Company Profile

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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