Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 30,165 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 10% from the previous session’s volume of 33,481 shares.The stock last traded at $77.11 and had previously closed at $77.69.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESQ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price target (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Esquire Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $653.95 million, a PE ratio of 15.88 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s fifty day moving average is $68.06 and its 200-day moving average is $58.53.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Esquire Financial’s payout ratio is 12.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Esquire Financial

In other news, Director Selig Zises sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 62,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,805,878.77. This represents a 11.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 18.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Esquire Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 0.8% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 566,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,909,000 after purchasing an additional 4,426 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,487,000 after acquiring an additional 966 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Esquire Financial by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 202,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,655,000 after purchasing an additional 17,333 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,887,000 after purchasing an additional 6,025 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in 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. 54.66% of the stock is currently 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.