Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Stock: Insider Ari Kornhaber Sells 20,000 Shares

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) EVP Ari Kornhaber sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.15, for a total transaction of $2,563,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 99,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,788,344.80. This represents a 16.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ESQ traded down $1.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $126.22. 60,234 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 126,101. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $92.10 and a fifty-two week high of $134.82. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.29. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96 and a beta of 0.40.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.23. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 21.49% and a net margin of 26.92%. The company had revenue of $61.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.93 million. Equities research analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.20%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $71,659,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Esquire Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,001,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Esquire Financial by 418.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 87,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,409,000 after buying an additional 70,646 shares in the last quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $6,593,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Esquire Financial by 471.4% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 56,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,020,000 after purchasing an additional 46,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Esquire Financial News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Esquire Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade: Zacks Research upgraded ESQ from “hold” to “strong-buy,” providing a potential near-term catalyst. The upgrade follows positive earnings-estimate revisions. Zacks Research upgrade and earnings estimates article
• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results: Esquire Financial reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.12 per share, exceeding the $1.89 analyst consensus, while revenue of $61.39 million also topped estimates of $59.93 million. The earnings beat supports expectations for continued earnings momentum. Esquire Financial third-quarter earnings article
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly dividend declared: The company declared a $0.20-per-share dividend payable December 1 to shareholders of record November 13. The annualized payout is $0.80 per share, representing a yield of approximately 0.6%. Esquire Financial quarterly dividend announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Executive insider sale: EVP Ari Kornhaber sold 20,000 shares for approximately $2.56 million, reducing his holdings by 16.7%. Although he still owns nearly 100,000 shares, the sizable sale could raise concern about insider confidence or encourage short-term profit-taking. SEC filing on insider share sale

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESQ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Esquire Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Esquire Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Esquire Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Esquire Financial presently has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.50.

About Esquire Financial

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc is the bank holding company for Esquire Bank, a federally chartered community bank headquartered in Jericho, New York. Esquire Bank primarily serves law firms, attorneys, and other professional-service businesses, as well as small and middle-market companies, entrepreneurs, and individuals.

The bank provides commercial banking products and services that include business checking and savings accounts, commercial loans, lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, construction lending, and small business lending.