Not a good buy right now at ~116.26 pre-market: price is pressing into nearby resistance (R1 ~117.38) with momentum extended, while short-term probabilistic trend skews slightly negative over 1 week/1 month.
Biggest near-term concern is heavy insider selling (selling amount up ~513.64% last month), which weakens the risk/reward for an immediate entry.
Dividend raise and strong recent fundamentals are positives, but they look largely priced in after the bullish trend; I would hold rather than chase here.
Technical Analysis
Trend/momentum: Bullish (SMA_5 > SMA_20 > SMA_200) and MACD histogram positive and expanding (0.758) → confirms upward momentum.
RSI_6: 69.393 → near overbought territory (extended, less attractive for a fresh buy).
Key levels: Pivot 111.514 (important support), Resistance 117.382 (R1) then 121.006 (R2). With price ~116.26, upside to first resistance is limited versus downside to pivot.
Pattern-based forward bias: indicates modest downside drift (-0.79% next week, -2.32% next month), reducing urgency to buy immediately.
Positive Catalysts
supports the fundamental uptrend.
Neutral/Negative Catalysts
Insiders are selling aggressively (selling amount up ~513.64% over the last month) → negative signal versus buying strength.
Price is near resistance (R1 ~117.38) with RSI near overbought → limited near-term upside runway.
Quant/pattern outlook suggests slight negative bias over the next week/month.
Dividend hike aligns with the strong earnings profile and capital return trend.
Growth
Profitability
Efficiency
Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends
Latest update (2026-01-23): Keefe Bruyette raised PT to $120 from $115; rating maintained at Market Perform.
Wall Street-style view implied by the update:
Pros: improving outlook/valuation support via higher PT and strong operating results.
Cons: Market Perform (not a high-conviction buy), suggesting upside may be more limited/valuation more balanced at current levels.
Influential / political trading check: No recent congress trading data available (no signal from politician activity).
Wall Street analysts forecast ESQ stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for ESQ is 115.5 USD with a low forecast of 115 USD and a high forecast of 116 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
2 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast ESQ stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for ESQ is 115.5 USD with a low forecast of 115 USD and a high forecast of 116 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
1 Buy
1 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 113.870
Low
115
Averages
115.5
High
116
Current: 113.870
Low
115
Averages
115.5
High
116
Keefe Bruyette
Market Perform
maintain
$115 -> $120
AI Analysis
2026-01-23
Reason
Keefe Bruyette
Price Target
$115 -> $120
AI Analysis
2026-01-23
maintain
Market Perform
Reason
Keefe Bruyette raised the firm's price target on Esquire Financial to $120 from $115 and keeps a Market Perform rating on the shares.
Piper Sandler
Overweight
maintain
$113 -> $116
2025-10-29
Reason
Piper Sandler
Price Target
$113 -> $116
2025-10-29
maintain
Overweight
Reason
Piper Sandler raised the firm's price target on Esquire Financial to $116 from $113 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares following quarterly results. The firm continues to really like the story at Esquire as one of the more unique names in the space. Piper gets some push-back on the stock's multiple considering down rates and EPS growth that's down from a once blistering pace in years like 2022/2023, but continues to believe hitching your wagon to a bank that can reliably deliver mid-to-high teens ROTCEs and TBVPS growth with plenty of growth runway will result in outperformance.
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