Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 77,457 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 40% from the previous session’s volume of 55,253 shares.The stock last traded at $91.66 and had previously closed at $89.30.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $786.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.56 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $87.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.11.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $33.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.71 million. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 19.20% and a net margin of 31.37%. Equities analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.175 per share. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Esquire Financial

In other Esquire Financial news, EVP Ari P. Kornhaber sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.51, for a total value of $1,670,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 104,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,738,820.44. This trade represents a 16.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kevin C. Waterhouse sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.87, for a total value of $251,610.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 86,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,263,058.13. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Esquire Financial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 7.5% during the first quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd now owns 3,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 11,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $875,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd raised its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 15.1% during the first quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 3,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Esquire Financial

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.