Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Earns Market Perform Rating from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating restated by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $85.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $80.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 3.34% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on ESQ. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a report on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James downgraded Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

Shares of ESQ opened at $82.25 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $79.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.02. The company has a market capitalization of $684.32 million, a PE ratio of 16.55 and a beta of 0.73. Esquire Financial has a fifty-two week low of $44.45 and a fifty-two week high of $90.00.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.01). Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 31.38%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Esquire Financial will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Esquire Financial

In other news, Director Joseph Melohn sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.15, for a total transaction of $237,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $291,509.45. This trade represents a 44.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rena Nigam purchased 640 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $77.50 per share, for a total transaction of $49,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $144,692.50. The trade was a 52.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 18.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esquire Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ESQ. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 36.6% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial during the third quarter worth about $54,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial during the third quarter worth about $64,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in Esquire Financial by 14.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial during the third quarter worth about $151,000. Institutional investors own 54.66% 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.