Gruss & Co. LLC Invests $463,000 in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

Key Points

• Gruss & Co. LLC has acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. worth approximately $463,000, making it the firm's 11th largest holding.
• Esquire Financial reported $1.38 earnings per share for the last quarter, meeting the consensus estimates, but with revenues falling short of expectations at $24.94 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.175 per share, representing an annual yield of 0.7%, with a payout ratio of 12.92%.

Gruss & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,144 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $463,000. Esquire Financial accounts for about 2.0% of Gruss & Co. LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Gruss & Co. LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Esquire Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ESQ. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 85.6% in the 1st quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 779,889 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,788,000 after purchasing an additional 359,677 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $4,640,000. Ampfield Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Ampfield Management L.P. now owns 281,502 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,220,000 after purchasing an additional 29,869 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 387,730 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,825,000 after purchasing an additional 21,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $545,000. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Esquire Financial

In related news, Director Selig Zises sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.38, for a total value of $476,900.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 29,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,813,805.38. This trade represents a 14.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 18.00% of the company's stock.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ ESQ traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $93.48. 22,002 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 93,309. The company has a market capitalization of $791.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24 and a beta of 0.57. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $54.49 and a one year high of $106.11. The company's 50-day moving average is $94.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.96.

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 company had revenue of ($24.94) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.26 million. Research analysts predict 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 will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.175 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Esquire Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ESQ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $110.00 target price (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Esquire Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th.

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.