Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on ESQ. Wall Street Zen raised Esquire Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Esquire Financial in a report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Esquire Financial has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and an average target price of $122.50.

Esquire Financial Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of ESQ stock opened at $127.70 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.25 and a beta of 0.40. Esquire Financial has a 52 week low of $92.10 and a 52 week high of $134.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $119.11 and a 200-day moving average of $114.29.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.23. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 21.49%. The company had revenue of $61.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.93 million. Analysts anticipate that Esquire Financial will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Andrew Sagliocca sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.73, for a total transaction of $1,227,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 288,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,444,178.54. This represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 13.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Landaas & Co. WI ADV bought a new position in shares of Esquire Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $435,000. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 6,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $712,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the period. VestGen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Esquire Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Esquire Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $310,000. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Esquire Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $293,000. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Esquire Financial Company Profile

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc is the bank holding company for Esquire Bank, a federally chartered community bank headquartered in Jericho, New York. Esquire Bank primarily serves law firms, attorneys, and other professional-service businesses, as well as small and middle-market companies, entrepreneurs, and individuals.

The bank provides commercial banking products and services that include business checking and savings accounts, commercial loans, lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, construction lending, and small business lending.