Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) was the target of a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 238,800 shares, a growth of 9.7% from the September 15th total of 217,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 30,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.7 days. Approximately 3.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Esquire Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $68.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ESQ traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $67.55. 11,453 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 34,281. The company has a market cap of $560.19 million, a P/E ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.19. Esquire Financial has a 1 year low of $43.24 and a 1 year high of $67.70.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.04. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 19.92% and a net margin of 31.36%. The company had revenue of $33.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.99 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Esquire Financial will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.90%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $42,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank purchased a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $91,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Esquire Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $151,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Esquire Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $401,000. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.