Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC Takes $1.22 Million Position in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ

Grandeur Peak Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 10,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Esquire Financial by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 450,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,990,000 after purchasing an additional 11,699 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 800,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,703,000 after buying an additional 23,692 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 199,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,405,000 after buying an additional 12,242 shares during the period. Langdon Equity Partners purchased a new position in shares of Esquire Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $14,609,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 471.4% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 56,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,020,000 after buying an additional 46,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on ESQ. Wall Street Zen raised Esquire Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Esquire Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.33.

Esquire Financial Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:ESQ opened at $114.12 on Friday. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $92.10 and a fifty-two week high of $134.82. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.19. The company has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83 and a beta of 0.38.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $42.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.59 million. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 29.30% and a return on equity of 18.22%. On average, research analysts forecast that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.9 EPS for the current year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 13.20%.

Insider Activity at Esquire Financial

In other news, Director Robert Mitzman sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.60, for a total value of $388,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 139,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,102,398.40. This trade represents a 2.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 13.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Esquire Financial 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.