Wasatch Advisors LP Decreases Stock Position in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

Wasatch Advisors LP decreased its stake in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ - Free Report) by 18.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 462,601 shares of the company's stock after selling 103,400 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP owned about 5.56% of Esquire Financial worth $36,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ESQ. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the company's stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $207,000. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $218,000. Delphi Management Inc. MA lifted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 33.8% during the 4th quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 2,776 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $228,000. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Esquire Financial Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of ESQ stock traded up $0.95 on Tuesday, reaching $80.12. 24,346 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 46,126. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $76.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $675.53 million, a PE ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 0.52. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.55 and a 52 week high of $90.18.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.01). Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 19.93% and a net margin of 31.58%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.175 dividend. This is a positive change from Esquire Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Esquire Financial's payout ratio is presently 13.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ESQ shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James downgraded Esquire Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $85.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Selig Zises sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.59, for a total transaction of $1,551,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,754,522.59. This trade represents a 36.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard T. Powers sold 1,427 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.99, for a total transaction of $124,134.73. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 58,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,132,149.03. The trade was a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Esquire Financial 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.