Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.01), Zacks reports. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 31.26% and a return on equity of 18.55%. The firm had revenue of $6.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.93 million.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:ESQ opened at $110.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $946.39 million, a P/E ratio of 19.37 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.80. Esquire Financial has a 1 year low of $68.90 and a 1 year high of $134.82.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.175 per share. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 12.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESQ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Esquire Financial from $113.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Esquire Financial in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Esquire Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $93,000. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 0.5% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 368,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,563,000 after purchasing an additional 1,878 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,431,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 24.8% during the 3rd quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 3,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 232.3% during the 3rd quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 11,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,161,000 after buying an additional 7,952 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Esquire Financial Company Profile

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.