Langdon Equity Partners Purchases New Shares in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ

Key Points

• Langdon Equity Partners opened a new position in Esquire Financial, buying 130,846 shares worth about $14.6 million. The stake represented 7.5% of Langdon’s portfolio and 1.53% of the company.
• Insiders sold shares in recent transactions: Director Selig Zises sold 25,000 shares and Director Richard T. Powers sold 2,308 shares. Altogether, insiders sold 32,308 shares worth about $3.43 million over the last 90 days.
• Esquire Financial beat EPS estimates in its latest quarterly report, posting $1.58 per share versus $1.52 expected, while revenue came in slightly below forecasts. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, and analysts currently have a consensus Buy rating with a $120.33 price target.

Langdon Equity Partners bought a new position in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 130,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,609,000. Esquire Financial comprises 7.5% of Langdon Equity Partners' portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Langdon Equity Partners owned 1.53% of Esquire Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 450,577 shares of the company's stock worth $45,990,000 after acquiring an additional 11,699 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 238,030 shares of the company's stock worth $24,292,000 after acquiring an additional 13,832 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 45.1% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 37,387 shares of the company's stock worth $3,816,000 after acquiring an additional 11,628 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $691,000. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 265,550 shares of the company's stock worth $27,105,000 after acquiring an additional 27,528 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Esquire Financial

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Selig Zises sold 25,000 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $2,663,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,501 shares in the company, valued at $905,696.54. The trade was a 74.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard T. Powers sold 2,308 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,308 shares of company stock worth $3,430,948. Insiders own 18.00% of the company's stock.

Esquire Financial Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of Esquire Financial stock opened at $115.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $998.96 million, a P/E ratio of 19.43 and a beta of 0.39. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $88.47 and a 12 month high of $134.82. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $109.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.56.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $40.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.76 million. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 29.96%. Analysts forecast that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Esquire Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Esquire Financial from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $125.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Esquire Financial from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. One equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $120.33.

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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