Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $83.24 and last traded at $83.22, with a volume of 8640 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ESQ shares. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price objective (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective 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 Up 1.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $701.21 million, a PE ratio of 16.96 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.08.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Selig Zises sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.77, for a total transaction of $614,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,805,878.77. The trade was a 11.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rena Nigam acquired 640 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $77.50 per share, with a total value of $49,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $144,692.50. The trade was a 52.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESQ. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 36.6% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $64,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Esquire Financial by 14.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $151,000. 54.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.