Squarepoint Ops LLC Has $4.74 Million Stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its Esquire Financial stake by 1,235.9% in the second quarter, owning 39,769 shares valued at approximately $4.74 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 54.66% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook, with a consensus “Buy” rating and a $120.33 price target. Esquire Financial also exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.60 in EPS versus the $1.56 consensus estimate.
• Esquire Financial reported strong profitability, including a 29.30% net margin and 18.22% return on equity, while paying a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, equivalent to a 0.7% yield.

Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) by 1,235.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,769 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 36,792 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned approximately 0.33% of Esquire Financial worth $4,737,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 14,824.1% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,057,220 shares of the company's stock worth $125,925,000 after buying an additional 1,050,136 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the second quarter valued at about $71,659,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the second quarter valued at about $44,001,000. Langdon Equity Partners bought a new position in Esquire Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $14,609,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Esquire Financial by 418.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 87,530 shares of the company's stock worth $9,409,000 after purchasing an additional 70,646 shares in the last quarter. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ESQ. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings cut Esquire Financial from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $120.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Mitzman sold 3,000 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.60, for a total value of $388,800.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 139,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,102,398.40. This trade represents a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 13.90% of the company's stock.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ESQ opened at $119.86 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.78 and a beta of 0.35. The stock's fifty day moving average is $121.60 and its 200 day moving average is $113.72. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $92.10 and a 52 week high of $134.82.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.04. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 29.30% and a return on equity of 18.22%. The business had revenue of $42.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.59 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. Esquire Financial's dividend payout ratio is 13.20%.

About Esquire Financial

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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