Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Boosts Stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 99.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,321 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,145 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.10% of Esquire Financial worth $662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 0.8% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 566,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,909,000 after buying an additional 4,426 shares in the last quarter. Ampfield Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Ampfield Management L.P. now owns 251,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,005,000 after buying an additional 24,773 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,887,000 after buying an additional 6,025 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 8.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 144,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,413,000 after buying an additional 11,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 161.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 23,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after buying an additional 14,521 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ESQ opened at $72.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $600.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50-day moving average of $80.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.98. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $44.45 and a 1 year high of $90.18.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.175 dividend. This is an increase from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Esquire Financial’s payout ratio is presently 13.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on ESQ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $85.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James cut Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Selig Zises sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.59, for a total value of $1,551,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,754,522.59. The trade was a 36.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard T. Powers sold 1,427 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.99, for a total value of $124,134.73. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 58,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,132,149.03. The trade was a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

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.