Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Short Interest Up 35.7% in January

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 439,600 shares, a growth of 35.7% from the January 15th total of 323,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 69,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.3 days. Currently, 6.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ESQ shares. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James lowered Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a report on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Activity at Esquire Financial

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Selig Zises sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.77, for a total transaction of $614,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 62,601 shares in the company, valued at $4,805,878.77. The trade was a 11.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Melohn sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.15, for a total value of $237,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $291,509.45. This trade represents a 44.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,427 shares of company stock worth $975,745. 18.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esquire Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,626,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 151.0% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Delphi Management Inc. MA grew its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 2,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during the period. 54.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Esquire Financial Trading Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ:ESQ traded down $1.53 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $83.78. 55,554 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 113,648. Esquire Financial has a fifty-two week low of $44.45 and a fifty-two week high of $90.18. The firm has a market cap of $697.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $82.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.04.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.01). Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 19.93% and a net margin of 31.58%. Research analysts predict that Esquire Financial will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.63%.

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.