Swiss National Bank Buys New Shares in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ

Swiss National Bank bought a new stake in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 13,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,033,000. Swiss National Bank owned 0.16% of Esquire Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 15,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $545,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $888,000 after acquiring an additional 865 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $207,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 151.0% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 788 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Esquire Financial Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:ESQ opened at $98.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $843.24 million, a PE ratio of 18.22 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $96.52 and its 200 day moving average is $87.04. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.00 and a 12 month high of $106.11.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 30.96% and a return on equity of 18.87%. The company had revenue of ($24.94) million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.26 million. Research analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.92%.

Insider Activity at Esquire Financial

In other news, Director Selig Zises sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.38, for a total value of $476,900.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,813,805.38. This represents a 14.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 18.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESQ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $110.00 target price (up from $102.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Esquire Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.50.

Esquire Financial 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.