Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $81.54 and last traded at $81.31, with a volume of 2828 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $79.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Esquire Financial Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $661.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.00 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $75.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.57.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Esquire Financial’s payout ratio is currently 12.07%.

Insider Transactions at Esquire Financial

In related news, Director Selig Zises sold 8,000 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.77, for a total value of $614,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,601 shares in the company, valued at $4,805,878.77. This trade represents a 11.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rena Nigam bought 640 shares of Esquire Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $77.50 per share, with a total value of $49,600.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $144,692.50. This trade represents a 52.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Esquire Financial by 36.6% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Esquire Financial during the second quarter worth $59,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial during the third quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial in the second quarter valued at $91,000. Hedge funds and other 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.