Raymond James Downgrades Esquire Financial Holdings (ESQ) to Market Perform (correction)

Raymond James analyst Steve Moss downgraded Esquire Financial Holdings (NASDAQ: ESQ) from Strong Buy to Market Perform .

The analyst comments: "We downgrade ESQ shares to Market Perform, from Strong Buy, due to valuation following the sharp run-up in the stock. Although EPS fell shy of expectations, business trends remain distinctly positive, as core deposit generation and loan growth were robust, and credit metrics remained pristine. ESQ shares have rallied +30% since the November presidential election, versus the KRE at +6%, with the outperformance possibly fueled by lower Fed rate cut expectations and better growth, in our view, as such would bode positively for ESQ’s asset sensitive balance sheet. That said, the valuation appears full, especially if Fed futures begin pricing in additional cuts, which could be a headwind to ESQ’s earnings outlook and valuation. While we like the ESQ business and story, we view the risk-reward as balanced at 14.4x our 2026 EPS estimates, versus peers at 10.2x."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Esquire Financial Holdings click here. For more ratings news on Esquire Financial Holdings click here.

Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings closed at $86.12 yesterday.

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