Sowell Financial Services LLC Makes New Investment in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ

Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,264,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC owned 0.15% of Esquire Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 4.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 199,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,927,000 after buying an additional 7,673 shares in the last quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Esquire Financial by 52.7% in the first quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 9,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $706,000 after buying an additional 3,232 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial in the first quarter worth about $751,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Esquire Financial by 70.5% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 16,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,518,000 after acquiring an additional 6,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $263,000. 54.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Esquire Financial Stock Down 2.1%

Esquire Financial stock opened at $102.23 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $875.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.94 and a beta of 0.42. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.90 and a 52-week high of $110.71.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.01. Esquire Financial had a net margin of 31.26% and a return on equity of 18.55%. The firm had revenue of $37.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.21 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.175 per share. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. Esquire Financial’s payout ratio is currently 12.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ESQ. Wall Street Zen lowered Esquire Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Esquire Financial from $113.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.00.

Esquire Financial 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.