Royce & Associates LP Takes $4.64 Million Position in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP acquired 61,561 shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, valued at approximately $4.6 million, increasing its stake to about 0.73% as of the latest reporting period.
• Esquire Financial's stock recently experienced a 5.9% decline, with the current market cap at $834.58 million and earnings per share reported at $1.38 for the last quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.175, representing an annualized yield of 0.71%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 15th.

Royce & Associates LP purchased a new position in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 61,561 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,640,000. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.73% of Esquire Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,407,000. Ampfield Management L.P. boosted its stake in Esquire Financial by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Ampfield Management L.P. now owns 281,502 shares of the company's stock worth $21,220,000 after buying an additional 29,869 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Esquire Financial by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 166,915 shares of the company's stock worth $13,270,000 after buying an additional 23,998 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Esquire Financial by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 387,730 shares of the company's stock worth $30,825,000 after buying an additional 21,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $545,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ESQ traded down $0.58 during trading on Thursday, hitting $95.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 24,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 93,583. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.49 and a fifty-two week high of $106.11. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $94.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.72. The company has a market capitalization of $808.44 million, a PE ratio of 17.61 and a beta of 0.52.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.38. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 19.33% and a net margin of 30.96%. The firm had revenue of ($24.94) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.26 million. On average, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.175 per share. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Esquire Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.92%.

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.