Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $81.54 and last traded at $81.31, with a volume of 2828 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $79.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESQ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 target price (up from $72.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Esquire Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $679.66 million, a PE ratio of 16.43 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.22.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.07%.

Insider Activity

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Rena Nigam purchased 640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $77.50 per share, for a total transaction of $49,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $144,692.50. The trade was a 52.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Selig Zises sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.77, for a total transaction of $614,160.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 62,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,805,878.77. This represents a 11.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esquire Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Esquire Financial by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 122,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,818,000 after acquiring an additional 21,833 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial in the second quarter worth $926,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 202,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,655,000 after buying an additional 17,333 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 79.8% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 36,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,351,000 after acquiring an additional 16,007 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 161.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 23,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 14,521 shares during the period. 54.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.