Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating
by Michael Walen · The Markets DailyEsquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ – Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.
A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on ESQ. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Esquire Financial in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Esquire Financial from $113.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Esquire Financial from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $118.00.
Esquire Financial Trading Down 2.0%
ESQ traded down $2.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $108.17. 88,749 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 46,787. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.86. Esquire Financial has a 52-week low of $68.90 and a 52-week high of $134.82. The company has a market capitalization of $927.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40 and a beta of 0.43.
Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.93 million. Esquire Financial had a return on equity of 18.72% and a net margin of 30.90%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Esquire Financial will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.
Institutional Trading of Esquire Financial
Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESQ. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 215.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 81,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,113,000 after acquiring an additional 55,367 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Esquire Financial by 69.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $932,000 after purchasing an additional 5,071 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Esquire Financial by 3.9% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas raised its stake in Esquire Financial by 99.7% during the second quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the period. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Esquire Financial by 40,107.1% in the 2nd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 244,861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,179,000 after purchasing an additional 244,252 shares during the last quarter. 54.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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.