Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Trading Down 3.5% on Disappointing Earnings

Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) traded down 3.5% during trading on Friday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $82.36 and last traded at $83.15. 19,290 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 72,886 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.12.

The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.01). Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 31.38%.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on ESQ shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James lowered Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Esquire Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Rena Nigam bought 640 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $77.50 per share, for a total transaction of $49,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $144,692.50. This represents a 52.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Selig Zises sold 8,000 shares of the company’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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESQ. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 887 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Esquire Financial by 161.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 23,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 14,521 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in Esquire Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $252,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 322.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,000 after buying an additional 7,869 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Esquire Financial by 3.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,887,000 after acquiring an additional 6,025 shares in the last quarter. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Esquire Financial Trading Down 2.6 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $79.17 and its 200-day moving average is $67.48. The firm has a market cap of $698.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88 and a beta of 0.73.

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.