GW&K Investment Management LLC Buys 12,242 Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ

Key Points

• GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Esquire Financial Holdings by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 12,242 more shares and bringing its total holding to 199,909 shares worth about $20.4 million.
• Esquire Financial reported quarterly earnings of $1.58 per share, topping estimates by $0.06, while revenue came in slightly below expectations at $40.46 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive, with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $120.33, though one recent report downgraded the stock to Sell.

GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 199,909 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,242 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned approximately 2.33% of Esquire Financial worth $20,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Esquire Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Esquire Financial by 352.5% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 810 shares of the company's stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Esquire Financial during the third quarter worth about $93,000. Comerica Bank boosted its position in Esquire Financial by 50.2% during the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 1,289 shares of the company's stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in Esquire Financial by 376.6% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 1,606 shares of the company's stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESQ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Esquire Financial from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $125.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Esquire Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Esquire Financial from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $120.33.

Esquire Financial Trading Up 1.1%

ESQ stock opened at $111.95 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $109.67 and a 200-day moving average of $107.41. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $88.47 and a 12 month high of $134.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $967.25 million, a P/E ratio of 18.82 and a beta of 0.39.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.06. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 29.96% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The company had revenue of $40.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.76 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.35 EPS for the current year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Esquire Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Selig Zises sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $2,663,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $905,696.54. This trade represents a 74.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard T. Powers sold 2,308 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.83, for a total value of $241,947.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 58,233 shares in the company, valued at $6,104,565.39. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 32,308 shares of company stock valued at $3,430,948 over the last 90 days. 18.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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