PDT Partners LLC Takes Position in Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. $ESQ

PDT Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $681,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Esquire Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $987,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial during the second quarter valued at $227,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Esquire Financial during the second quarter valued at $745,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the second quarter valued at about $1,231,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in Esquire Financial in the second quarter worth about $682,000. 54.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Esquire Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Esquire Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.33.

Insider Activity at Esquire Financial

In related news, Director Robert Mitzman sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.60, for a total value of $388,800.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 139,679 shares in the company, valued at $18,102,398.40. The trade was a 2.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 13.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Esquire Financial Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Esquire Financial stock opened at $114.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.19. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $92.10 and a fifty-two week high of $134.82.

Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.04. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 18.22% and a net margin of 29.30%.The firm had revenue of $42.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.59 million. Analysts anticipate that Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 6.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Esquire Financial’s payout ratio is currently 13.20%.

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.