Gator Capital Management LLC Sells 292 Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

Gator Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,061 shares of the company’s stock after selling 292 shares during the quarter. Esquire Financial makes up about 2.8% of Gator Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Gator Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Esquire Financial were worth $7,398,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ESQ. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $54,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in Esquire Financial by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Esquire Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $218,000. Delphi Management Inc. MA raised its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 33.8% in the fourth quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 2,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $238,000. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $85.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th.

Esquire Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

ESQ stock opened at $71.93 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $606.51 million, a P/E ratio of 13.94 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.07. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.45 and a 1-year high of $90.18.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.175 per share. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. This is a positive change from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 13.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Esquire Financial Company 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.