Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on ESQ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Esquire Financial from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Esquire Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. One equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $120.33.

Esquire Financial Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ ESQ opened at $113.22 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $107.81 and a 200 day moving average of $104.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $978.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26 and a beta of 0.45. Esquire Financial has a 12-month low of $75.79 and a 12-month high of $134.82.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $39.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.93 million. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 30.90% and a return on equity of 18.28%. Sell-side analysts predict that Esquire Financial will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. Esquire Financial’s payout ratio is presently 13.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Esquire Financial

In other news, Director Selig Zises sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $2,663,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $905,696.54. The trade was a 74.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard T. Powers sold 2,308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.83, for a total transaction of $241,947.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 58,233 shares in the company, valued at $6,104,565.39. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 32,308 shares of company stock worth $3,430,948 in the last three months. Insiders own 18.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esquire Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 450,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,990,000 after buying an additional 11,699 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 0.5% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 368,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,563,000 after buying an additional 1,878 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 265,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,105,000 after buying an additional 27,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 6.2% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 238,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,292,000 after buying an additional 13,832 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

About Esquire Financial

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.