Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $82.04 and last traded at $81.76, with a volume of 16723 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $80.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on ESQ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Esquire Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price objective (up previously from $72.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a report on Friday, October 25th.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $674.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $76.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.65.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph Melohn sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $291,509.45. This represents a 44.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Rena Nigam acquired 640 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $77.50 per share, for a total transaction of $49,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,867 shares in the company, valued at $144,692.50. This represents a 52.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esquire Financial

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 21.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 122,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,818,000 after acquiring an additional 21,833 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $926,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 202,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,655,000 after purchasing an additional 17,333 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 79.8% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 36,058 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,351,000 after buying an additional 16,007 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Esquire Financial by 161.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 23,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,532,000 after buying an additional 14,521 shares during the last quarter. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.