Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Friday.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on ESQ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Esquire Financial from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Esquire Financial from $113.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $118.00.

Esquire Financial Stock Down 2.0%

NASDAQ ESQ opened at $108.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $927.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40 and a beta of 0.43. Esquire Financial has a 52 week low of $68.90 and a 52 week high of $134.82. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $104.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.86.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last issued 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 return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 30.90%.The firm had revenue of $6.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.93 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Esquire Financial will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were given a $0.175 dividend. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. Esquire Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Esquire Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 40,107.1% in the second quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 244,861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,179,000 after acquiring an additional 244,252 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Esquire Financial by 215.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 81,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,113,000 after purchasing an additional 55,367 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,438,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 224,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,223,000 after purchasing an additional 14,207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,431,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

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.