Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ Shares Purchased by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 98.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,337 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,592 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.20% of Esquire Financial worth $1,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Esquire Financial by 2.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 438,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,790,000 after purchasing an additional 8,437 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 6.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 224,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,223,000 after buying an additional 14,207 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 4.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 199,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,927,000 after buying an additional 7,673 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 215.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 81,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,113,000 after buying an additional 55,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 49,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,677,000 after buying an additional 6,846 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ESQ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Esquire Financial from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised Esquire Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Esquire Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Esquire Financial has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $118.00.

Esquire Financial Trading Down 2.3%

Esquire Financial stock opened at $99.33 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $851.26 million, a P/E ratio of 16.89 and a beta of 0.47. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.90 and a twelve month high of $134.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.11.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.01). Esquire Financial had a net margin of 30.90% and a return on equity of 18.72%. The company had revenue of $39.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.93 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 13.61%.

About Esquire Financial

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.