Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 7,642 Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 90.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,096 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,642 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.19% of Esquire Financial worth $1,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ESQ. Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the third quarter valued at about $217,000. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust lifted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 22,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,344,000 after purchasing an additional 5,328 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,264,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Esquire Financial by 70.5% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 16,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after buying an additional 6,629 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Esquire Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ESQ opened at $110.42 on Wednesday. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.90 and a 1 year high of $134.82. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $107.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.34. The company has a market cap of $946.30 million, a P/E ratio of 18.78 and a beta of 0.46.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.93 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a positive change from Esquire Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Esquire Financial’s payout ratio is 13.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESQ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Esquire Financial in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Esquire Financial from $113.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Esquire Financial from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Esquire Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $118.00.

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.