Insiders Sold US$967k Of Esquire Financial Holdings Stock Possibly Sending Warning Sign

While Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) shareholders have had a good week with the stock up 10%, they shouldn't let their guards down. The fact that insiders chose to dispose of US$967k worth of stock in the past 12 months even though prices were relatively low could be indicative of some anticipated weakness.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

View our latest analysis for Esquire Financial Holdings

Esquire Financial Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Independent Director, Selig Zises, sold US$329k worth of shares at a price of US$39.23 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$44.75). We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. This single sale was just 2.7% of Selig Zises's stake. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Selig Zises.

Selig Zises sold a total of 24.00k shares over the year at an average price of US$40.28. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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Insiders At Esquire Financial Holdings Have Sold Stock Recently

The last three months saw significant insider selling at Esquire Financial Holdings. In total, Independent Director Selig Zises dumped US$354k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.

Insider Ownership Of Esquire Financial Holdings

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 18% of Esquire Financial Holdings shares, worth about US$64m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The Esquire Financial Holdings Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider hasn't bought Esquire Financial Holdings stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But it is good to see that Esquire Financial Holdings is growing earnings. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We'd practice some caution before buying! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Esquire Financial Holdings. To assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Esquire Financial Holdings.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.