Royce & Associates LP Has $13.74 Million Stock Position in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ

Royce & Associates LP lowered its stake in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) by 6.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 134,581 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,978 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Esquire Financial were worth $13,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 8,437 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Esquire Financial by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 238,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,292,000 after acquiring an additional 13,832 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 199,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,927,000 after purchasing an additional 7,673 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of 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. 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 purchasing an additional 6,846 shares during the period. 54.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Esquire Financial Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:ESQ opened at $103.09 on Tuesday. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.90 and a 12-month high of $134.82. The stock has a market cap of $883.48 million, a PE ratio of 17.53 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50 day moving average of $107.50 and a 200-day moving average of $102.96.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last announced its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $39.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.93 million. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 30.90%. Equities research analysts expect that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Esquire Financial Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on ESQ. Wall Street Zen cut Esquire Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Esquire Financial from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Esquire Financial in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.00.

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.