PDT Partners LLC Invests $269,000 in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

PDT Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $269,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ESQ. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 322.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,308 shares of the company's stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 7,869 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 161.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 23,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 14,521 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,203 shares of the company's stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 887 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $534,000. Finally, Ampfield Management L.P. boosted its position in Esquire Financial by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Ampfield Management L.P. now owns 251,633 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,005,000 after buying an additional 24,773 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.66% of the company's stock.

Esquire Financial Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of ESQ traded up $1.82 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $89.15. The company had a trading volume of 15,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,501. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.97. The company has a market capitalization of $751.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20 and a beta of 0.51. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.55 and a 12-month high of $90.18.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $33.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.71 million. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 31.58% and a return on equity of 19.93%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.175 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. Esquire Financial's payout ratio is currently 13.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kevin C. Waterhouse sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.87, for a total transaction of $251,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 86,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,263,058.13. This trade represents a 3.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ari P. Kornhaber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.51, for a total value of $1,670,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 104,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,738,820.44. This represents a 16.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,473,610 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 18.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ESQ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

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.