Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.18 Per Share

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 30th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of 0.175 per share on Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. This is a boost from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15.

Esquire Financial has a payout ratio of 10.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Esquire Financial to earn $5.52 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 10.9%.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Esquire Financial stock traded up $2.15 on Thursday, hitting $87.42. The stock had a trading volume of 311,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 108,929. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $80.14 and a 200 day moving average of $68.62. Esquire Financial has a twelve month low of $44.45 and a twelve month high of $90.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $727.33 million, a P/E ratio of 17.59 and a beta of 0.73.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 net margin of 31.38% and a return on equity of 19.53%. Equities analysts expect that Esquire Financial will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph Melohn sold 3,000 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.15, for a total transaction of $237,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $291,509.45. This trade represents a 44.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Selig Zises sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.77, for a total value of $614,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now 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. Insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James downgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $85.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a report on Monday.

About Esquire Financial

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.