Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 40,183 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 13% from the previous session’s volume of 35,607 shares.The stock last traded at $78.73 and had previously closed at $78.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESQ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Esquire Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Friday, October 25th.

Esquire Financial Trading Up 1.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $661.77 million, a P/E ratio of 16.00 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $75.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.03.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Esquire Financial’s payout ratio is currently 12.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph Melohn sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.15, for a total transaction of $237,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $291,509.45. The trade was a 44.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Selig Zises sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.77, for a total transaction of $614,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 62,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,805,878.77. This represents a 11.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Esquire Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank acquired a new position in Esquire Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $91,000. Institutional investors own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

About Esquire Financial

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.