Short Interest in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Drops By 26.3%

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 434,300 shares, a drop of 26.3% from the February 13th total of 589,000 shares. Currently, 6.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 76,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.7 days.

Esquire Financial Stock Up 2.4 %

NASDAQ:ESQ traded up $1.74 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $73.10. 38,028 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 43,259. The company has a market capitalization of $608.27 million, a P/E ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 0.78. Esquire Financial has a 12 month low of $44.45 and a 12 month high of $90.18. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.67.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.01). Esquire Financial had a net margin of 31.58% and a return on equity of 19.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Esquire Financial will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.175 dividend. This is an increase from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESQ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James lowered shares of Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $85.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Joseph Melohn sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $291,509.45. This trade represents a 44.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Selig Zises sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.59, for a total transaction of $1,551,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,754,522.59. This represents a 36.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,427 shares of company stock worth $1,913,385. 18.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $180,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Esquire Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $272,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Esquire Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Esquire Financial by 14.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 156.0% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 3,795 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.