Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Takes $263,000 Position in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $263,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ESQ. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD purchased a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $224,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $213,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 61,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 22,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,816,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Esquire Financial by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 1,182 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:ESQ opened at $97.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $832.74 million, a P/E ratio of 17.99 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $97.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.29. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $59.95 and a 1 year high of $106.11.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.38. The firm had revenue of ($24.94) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.26 million. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 18.87% and a net margin of 30.96%. On average, analysts expect that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.175 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Esquire Financial

In other news, Director Selig Zises sold 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.71, for a total value of $1,695,070.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,094,009.71. This trade represents a 44.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Melohn sold 1,326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $132,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 136,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,653,100. This trade represents a 0.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,326 shares of company stock worth $3,403,470. Company insiders own 18.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESQ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $110.00 target price (up from $102.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Esquire Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.50.

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.