Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Sees Strong Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) saw strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 70,880 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the previous session’s volume of 103,464 shares.The stock last traded at $121.4820 and had previously closed at $119.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on ESQ. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Esquire Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Esquire Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Esquire Financial has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.33.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $112.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67 and a beta of 0.39.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $40.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.76 million. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 29.96% and a return on equity of 18.30%. Analysts expect that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esquire Financial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 450,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,990,000 after purchasing an additional 11,699 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Esquire Financial by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 265,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,105,000 after buying an additional 27,528 shares during the period. Langdon Equity Partners purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $14,609,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 199,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,405,000 after buying an additional 12,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 800,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,703,000 after buying an additional 23,692 shares during the period. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.