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

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 434,300 shares, a decrease 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 daily volume of 76,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ESQ. Raymond James lowered Esquire Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $85.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Esquire Financial from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

Esquire Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ESQ traded up $0.70 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $72.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 68,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 43,377. Esquire Financial has a fifty-two week low of $44.45 and a fifty-two week high of $90.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $81.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.84. The company has a market capitalization of $599.11 million, a PE ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 0.78.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last posted 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 net margin of 31.58% and a return on equity of 19.93%. On average, equities analysts predict that Esquire Financial will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.57%.

Insider Activity at Esquire Financial

In other news, Director Selig Zises sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.59, for a total transaction of $1,551,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,754,522.59. The trade was a 36.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard T. Powers sold 1,427 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.99, for a total value of $124,134.73. Following the sale, the director now owns 58,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,132,149.03. The trade was a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,427 shares of company stock worth $1,913,385. 18.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Esquire Financial

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESQ. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 29,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,345,000 after acquiring an additional 1,274 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Esquire Financial by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the period. Bosun Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Esquire Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $487,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Esquire Financial by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 22,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,816,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. 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.