Short Interest in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) Decreases By 17.0%

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) saw a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 550,205 shares, a drop of 17.0% from the January 15th total of 662,717 shares. Currently, 7.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 128,808 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days. Based on an average trading volume of 128,808 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days. Currently, 7.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on ESQ. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Esquire Financial from $113.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Esquire Financial from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Esquire Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.00.

Institutional Trading of Esquire Financial

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESQ. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in Esquire Financial during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Esquire Financial by 64.3% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 690 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 352.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $93,000. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

Esquire Financial stock traded up $2.47 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $108.93. 63,233 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 101,083. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.12. Esquire Financial has a fifty-two week low of $68.90 and a fifty-two week high of $134.82. The stock has a market cap of $933.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53 and a beta of 0.46.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $39.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.93 million. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 30.90% and a return on equity of 18.72%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Esquire Financial will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This is a positive change from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.61%.

Esquire Financial Company Profile

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc is a bank holding company whose principal subsidiary, Esquire Bank, specializes in residential mortgage lending and community banking services. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, the company operates through multiple distribution channels, including retail branches, wholesale and correspondent lending divisions. Esquire Financial focuses on tailored home financing solutions while maintaining a community-oriented approach to banking.

In its mortgage lending business, Esquire Bank originates and services a range of home loan products, including government-insured mortgages (FHA, VA and USDA) as well as conventional conforming and jumbo loans.