Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

Separately, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Esquire Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Esquire Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $120.33.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:ESQ opened at $129.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $119.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.27. Esquire Financial has a 1-year low of $92.10 and a 1-year high of $134.82.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.04. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 29.30% and a return on equity of 18.59%. The company had revenue of $42.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.59 million. As a group, analysts expect that Esquire Financial will post 6.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Robert Mitzman sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.60, for a total value of $388,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 139,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,102,398.40. This trade represents a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 13.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esquire Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Esquire Financial during the second quarter worth about $71,659,000. Langdon Equity Partners purchased a new position in Esquire Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $14,609,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 418.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 87,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,409,000 after acquiring an additional 70,646 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $6,593,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 215.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 81,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,113,000 after acquiring an additional 55,367 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.