Short Interest in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Decreases By 9.5%

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 222,700 shares, a decline of 9.5% from the March 31st total of 246,000 shares. Approximately 3.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 47,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ESQ shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Esquire Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Esquire Financial from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday.

Esquire Financial Trading Down 4.2 %

Esquire Financial stock traded down $2.08 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $47.04. The stock had a trading volume of 55,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 42,182. The stock has a market capitalization of $390.10 million, a PE ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 0.79. Esquire Financial has a 12 month low of $35.00 and a 12 month high of $54.80. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.83.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.02). Esquire Financial had a net margin of 31.50% and a return on equity of 20.73%. The business had revenue of $28.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.01 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Esquire Financial will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Esquire Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Esquire Financial

In related news, Director Selig Zises sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.84, for a total transaction of $598,080.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 135,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,730,044.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 20.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Esquire Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESQ. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Esquire Financial in the first quarter valued at about $42,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 45.7% in the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 30,136 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,505,000 after acquiring an additional 9,459 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 156.2% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,052 shares of the company's stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 10,397 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Esquire Financial by 96.7% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,609 shares of the company's stock worth $580,000 after acquiring an additional 5,706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Esquire Financial by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 54,804 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,738,000 after purchasing an additional 11,370 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.66% of the company's stock.

Esquire Financial Company Profile

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.